


Learning to Fly

by Iforgotthedip



Series: Beautiful Trauma [28]
Category: Shameless (US), gallavich - Fandom
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anxiety Attacks, Arguments, Bathroom Sex, Bed-Wetting, Birth, Blizzards, Boys In Love, Car Sex, Caretaking, Celebrations, Cleaning Up, Cuddling, Dad Guilt, Daddy Kink, Emergency Delivery, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Dinners, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Family time, Food Issues, Gallavich, Hurt/Comfort, Late Nights, M/M, Making Up, Married Life, Married Sex, Meal Time, Minor Violence, Natural Disasters, Nightmares, Oral Sex, Overcrowding, Panic Attacks, Parenthood, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Pushing boundaries, Rimming, Separation Anxiety, Shower Sex, Sneaking Around, Snow Storms, Snuggling, Spanking, Stolen Moments, Support Systems, Teamwork, The Dirtiest White Boy in America, Time Alone, Vomiting, Weddings, Work Up For Adoption, family love, flu season, labor, parenting struggles, potty training, school fights, sick babies, tantrums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:40:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22641196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iforgotthedip/pseuds/Iforgotthedip
Summary: When circumstances temporarily take Svetlana out of the picture, Ian and Mickey are left to raise the kids on their own, and must learn to navigate the ups and downs of life and parenthood with a family of four.
Relationships: Fiona Gallagher/Iggy Milkovich, Ian Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich & Svetlana Milkovich, Ian Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich & Yevgeny Milkovich, Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Kev Ball/Veronica Fisher, Mandy Milkovich/Lip Gallagher
Series: Beautiful Trauma [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1414660
Comments: 108
Kudos: 95





	1. Potties and Pistols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shooting at the Alibi has a surprisingly good outcome for the Gallagher Milkovich family

Another year has gone by before Ian or Mickey can get a grip on it, filled with laughter, tears, and endless love. They’ve busted their asses to be where they are, and the pay off has been worth every minute of watching their little family grow. 

Ian is still working as an EMT, doing everything he can to support them with Svetlana’s help. He was recently made a shift lead, which is more crazy hours, but also more money, so he’s tired as hell, but happy to do it if it means getting to come home to Mickey and the kids each night. Yevgeny is 7 now and in the first grade, getting bigger and smarter every day. He loves making friends and learning new things, loves his parents, playing with his cousins, and his crazy little sister. 

Polina Marie is growing like a weed, she’s healthy, happy, and as feisty as the day is long. For Mickey anyway, the days are long but the years are short, he’s constantly exhausted, but blissfully happy. He wouldn’t change a moment of staying home to raise their daughter, no matter how much of a handful she may be.

They hardly had to think about punishing Yevgeny at this age, besides quelling his bouts of hyper activity and the occasional removal of his hand from something he wasn’t allowed to touch. This one is already getting regular time outs and throwing full blown tantrums, giving them a run for their money in every way possible, no one in the Milkovich house has any doubt that the terrible twos are in full swing. 

Since she turned two last week, they’ve been trying to get her into the earliest stages of potty training, not getting far or expecting much yet, but remaining consistent to start getting her used to the idea. Every morning, just as he is now, Mickey takes her diaper off and sits her on the little plastic practice potty they’ve placed across from the toilet in the bathroom. 

At this point, the stubborn little girl pretty much cooperates when she feels like it, and the little toilet serves more purpose as a spot for Ian to stub his toe as he gets ready in the morning that anything else. 

“Go potty” Mickey tells the two year old, and Polly furrows her brow “you go!” She says, pointing a tiny accusatory finger at him. “I do go” he reminds her, mumbling half to himself “you oughtta know that, you’re in here with me every damn time” 

He sighs and stares at her a moment, the toddler staring back with wild ginger bed head, that’s gone from soft baby curls to whispy red locks as it’s gotten longer. Her stubborn pout looks so much like Ian’s that it makes his heart want to burst at the seams. “At least go pee, bird” he reasons but she only pouts harder and shakes her head.

“I’ll give you a cookie if you go” the ex con bargains and Polina smirks. “Two” she says, and Mickey sighs, rubbing his tired eyes and regretting teaching her to count to three so early, though it’s usual used in their house as a warning. “Deal” he agrees, and Polina flashes him a wicked smile. The sound of her urine hitting the little plastic toilet bowl is music to his ears. 

“Atta girl” he tells her, smacking a kiss on her lips and grabbing some toilet paper before standing her up to be wiped. Just as hes flushing the used TP down the actual toilet, his phone rings, and he fishes it out of his pocket to answer. “What?” Mickey snaps, and Svetlana’s frantic voice turns his blood cold. “There is shooting at Alibi! Iggy is hit! You must come to hospital now!” 

“Fuck!” Mickey hisses “we’ll be right here” he hangs up and scoops Polly up onto his hip, telling her “C’mon Princess, let’s put a new dipe on you and get dressed, we gotta go!” “Cookies!” She shrieks to remind him and he nods, hurrying out of the bathroom as he assures her “yeah yeah, I know, cookies too” 

Polina is still gnawing on the second cookie when they meet Ian at the hospital’s snowy entrance. The older redhead takes the younger one from Mickey’s arms, kissing her before he pulls his husband close against his opposite hip and kisses him too. “It’s gonna be alright” Ian assures him, but the Milkovich in question is already on a roll, stalking inside and storming the nurses station with Ian and Polly right behind him. 

“Iggy Milkovich” he demands “where is he?” “Are you family?” The nurse asks, not looking up from her computer and Mickey slam his fist on the counter, making her jump out of her skin “I’m his fucking brother!” He growls, and Ian pulls him back, stepping between them to pacify the situation. Before he can though, they hear Mandy’s voice off to the right, calling “Guys! We’re over here!” 

They turn and hurry towards her, Damien on her hip and a second baby bump, a girl this time, at almost full term beneath her shirt. Mandy grabs Mickey in a hug, letting him take Damien from her and kissing Ian and Polina both before leading them through a small ER doorway. The rest of the family is huddled inside. Lana, Lip, Kev and V, Debbie and Sai, who are now married, and Carl with his 9 month old daughter, Roxanne Faith. He is a single dad since Kassidi ran out on the two of them shortly after giving birth, but is completely devoted to raising the little girl on his own. The only people missing are Liam and the rest of the kids, as all of them are in school. 

Iggy is at the center of it all, sitting up in bed with bloody gauze stuck to his left shoulder. He’s clearly drugged up and dopey as ever, Fiona draped over him in tears of relief, kissing the side of his face. “Hey man” he says when he sees Mickey, as if it’s an average visit. “Don’t hey me asshole, what the fuck happened?” Mickey snaps, Looking around at the others for an explanation. 

“He was out front closing a deal, the guy got pissed at the price and pulled out a piece ” Kev explains, V adding “yeah the bullet went through our wall, we thought he was gonna bleed out so we called 911 and the cops showed up” “and they raided rub and tug, so it is no more” Svetlana informs them, looking at Iggy begrudgingly. 

“Clean shot through the back, Just missed his heart” Fiona says, turning to Iggy and pinching him near the wound, making him grimace in pain as she scolds “you dumb ass, I could’ve lost you!” Iggy looks up at her, grinning ear to ear and says “marry me?” 

Everyone holds their breath as Fiona stares him down. “You gonna quit the hoodrat bullshit? No more dealin? Cause I swear to god I won’t go through this again” “ok” Iggy agrees with a nod, not even having to think about it as he gazes up at her lovingly. Fiona can’t help but melt, smoothing his hair back and whispering “alright then, yeah” 

There’s a great cry of triumph from the family as they kiss, everyone hugging and congratulating so obnoxiously that a nurse has to come in and tell them to be quiet, asking them to leave when she gets several raised middle fingers in response. 

Everyone trickles out onto the street, headed back to work or whatever they were doing and leaving the new fiancés in peace. “Here you go big guy” Mickey tells Damien, handing him back to his dad. “How’s my niece cooking?” Ian asks Mandy, putting a hand on her belly and rubbing it as she sighs. 

“She cooks any longer and she’s gonna be well done, I’m over it” she mutters. Debbie laughs at this, sympathizing with her and continuing to chat as they break off, headed for Fiona’s apartment building where all of them now live.

Kev, V, and Lana, follow the boys and Polly to the parking lot. “I go peepee in the potty, Daddy!” Polina tells Ian proudly as they walk, and he beams, tickling her sides and praising “you did huh?! good job Pollybird! That’s my big girl!” 

“I bribed her with cookies” Mickey informs him, and Ian laughs and shakes his head, putting his arm around him. “Gonna come home early with us Gallagher?” Mickey asks, taking his husbands hand “still got a while before it’s time to pick Yev up, and Strawberry Shortcake hasn’t taken a nap yet”

Ian smirks at Mickey, curling his arm around his waste and giving him his bedroom eyes. Svetlana, who has been listening from behind them, rolls her own in response, taking the baby off his hip. “Go” she tells them “I will pick up Yevgeny and meet you at home” 

Mickey offers her the truck keys but she shakes her head “we’ll drive em” V offers “gotta pick up the girls anyway, might as well do it together and drop everybody off on the way back” 

“We owe you guys one” Ian tells them, opening the door and pulling Polly’s carseat from the back as they reach the truck. Svetlana waves him off as he hands it to Kev, telling her daughter “you have a little time with mama now huh Moy Svet? devushka vremya”

“Be good for mama, Parrot” Mickey tells the toddler, handing the keys to his husband and leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. “See you at home pumpkin” Ian adds, tickling her armpit. Polina giggles and waves over Lana’s shoulder as the four of them head for the van, both of her dads blowing her kisses as they watch them go. 

The minute they’re out of sight, Ian’s rounding the drivers side as fast as he can, Mickey jumping in the passenger as he starts the truck. “Where we goin Firecrotch?” The ex con asks, and the redhead smirks, murmuring “I got a place” Mickey grins at that, grabbing him by the Firecrotch in question and squeezing.


	2. Like Horny Teenagers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey sneak off for a stolen moment of sexy time

Ian pulls the truck around the back of the hospital, where he knows from coming here so much for work, that there’s nothing but dumpsters and a brick wall. Before he can even stop the vehicle, Mickey’s got his work pants open, fist tight around his husband’s cock and head dropping down between his legs to take it in his mouth. It’s not the first time he’s given Ian road head, and it certainly won’t be the last. 

“Yeah baby” Ian groans, putting the truck in park and grabbing a fist full of Mickey’s hair, lifting his head and pushing it back down again, building a rhythm as his lover slurps obscenely, cupping his balls and squeezing. Ian hisses in pleasure, dragging him off by the hair and up into a messy kiss. Mickey grins into his mouth, kissing back fiercely as he slithers across the bench into his lap. 

Ian helps him along as he drags him closer, grabbing two handfuls of his behind and squeezing. Mickey moans, biting into Ian’s neck and beginning to grind their hips together as the redhead undoes his pants, yanking at his boxers and pulling both garments down just past his ass. Ian sucks quickly on two fingers and slips them into Mickey, the dark haired man whimpering and beginning to shove back on them as Ian mouths at his pulse point. 

He gets so carried away that he loses control of his movements, bouncing his ass back too hard and accidentally honking the horn. Both of them jump in surprise, laughing into each other’s mouths. “So we’re back to this huh?” Mickey chuckles, kissing Ian once more before climbing into the backseat “actin like a couple horny teenagers with nowhere to go” 

“Until Polina starts sleepin in her own bed, yeah” Ian says, pulling off his shirt and shifting up to crawl after him “I think it’s kinda kinky” “don’t mention my daughters name when you’re about to put your dick in me” Mickey tells him. “Don’t sass me and I won’t” Ian quips back, swatting him on the backside and kissing the cheek that he smacked. Mickey hums in delight and spreads his legs, turning so Ian can get behind him on the backseat bench. 

Ian spreads Mickey’s cheeks with both hands and licks over his hole, swirling his tongue around his rim and jabbing it into him a few times to get him wet before he mounts him from behind. Mickey whines and pushes back on him, reaching over his shoulder to grab Ian by the back of the neck as he begins to pound into him. “Daddy!” He gasps as his lover bites into his shoulder, grabbing at his pecs and groaning huskily back “yeah baby, gimme that ass” 

Mickey drops back down to all fours, arching and riding back on Ian as he redhead grips his hips and slams into him again and again. “Yeah fuck oh yeah!” Mickey screams, dropping his forehead against the upholstery “gonna cum!” “Already?!” Ian asks and Mickey nods, whining “can’t help it, been a while” 

“Its ok love, I got you” Ian assures him, reaching around to fist his cock and pump it as he continues to thrust sharply into Mickey, hip bones slapping gloriously against thick rump. “Shit! God damnit!” The former thug wails, giving it back to Ian with all his strength as he cums against his own stomach, covering his shirt and Ian’s hand. 

His husband pulls him down to lay on his back and leans over him, resting Mickey’s head on his thigh and sucking on his sticky fingers before dipping down to lick him clean of his mess. Mickey hums in contentment, taking Ian’s solid cock in his hand and beginning to jerk it before he sucks the head into his mouth. The taller man grins at the feeling, shifting his legs apart over Mickey’s head so he can continue. 

The Milkovich man grins around him, giving his behind a squeeze and a smack before flipping over in front of Ian without releasing his dick and beginning to thrust his mouth on him, gazing up at him through his eyelashes. Ian runs his fingers through Mickey’s hair, smoothing his hands down his shoulders and back. He pinches and slaps at his butt, using the delightfully round flesh to help push himself even closer to the edge. 

“Fuck Mick!” He groans “oh god I’m gonna lose it!” The Milkovich man doesn’t waste a second, pushing him back onto his ass against the backseat door and climbing into his lap again. Mickey rides Ian hard, slamming himself down on his cock again and again until the redhead explodes inside him, grabbing his hips and biting into his neck as he fills him up. 

Mickey flops down in Ian’s arms then, his head resting on his shoulder. Both of them chuckle and pant as the redhead holds him close, kissing his neck. The ex con sits up after a moment, gripping Ian’s cheek and pulling him in for a long slow kiss before he pulls back again and smirks “ruined my fuckin shirt, Firecrotch” he teases. 

“Oh I ruined your shirt?!” Ian laughs “don’t think so, tough guy, that was all you”. Mickey shakes his head “my load is still your fault” he insists, shifting back and pulling up his jeans and boxers “you’re the one that made me cum, and your load is gonna ruin my pants before I get a chance to change em” 

Ian laughs, giving in “you’re right, sorry babe” and leaning in to kiss him once more “I don’t got any pants but there’s a shirt here” he offers him, pulling a clean teeshirt off the floor of the truck. Ian keeps them there since he and Mickey switch off the days they use it, based on things they know each other will need it for. 

“Thanks kid” Mickey says with a grin, pulling his dirty one off and throwing it down there. He tugs the new one on as he begins to climb into the front seat again. “We better get home” he says “Make sure Lana and Polly haven’t killed each other” Ian nods, giving him one final swat on the backside as it passes his face. “Aye!” Mickey laughs and Ian giggles, closing up his pants and climbing after him.


	3. Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family gathers to celebrate Fiona and Iggy’s wedding, and upcoming changes in the Milkovich household are brought to light

On the afternoon of the wedding, Mickey sits in the kid’s rocker with baby Roxanne in his arms. Ian and the rest of the guys are down at the hall setting up, Yevgeny and the twins with them. Damien is with his mother, as he and Polina as a pair are too much work for anyone to take on alone. Mandy and Lana have Franny and Finn as well, minding them while they help V and Debbie get Fiona ready. 

Mickey occasionally watches Roxy for Carl, knowing he can use the help, and that she can use the extra love without her mom around. His little niece is almost asleep in his lap, eyelids drooping, and it makes Mickey grin, missing the days when his Polly Pocket was this small. 

That same Polly Pocket is currently standing in the middle of the room, wearing nothing but a diaper and a murderous glare. She’s having absolutely none of seeing her father holding another baby, and is on the verge of doing something about it. “Papa up!” She hollers, putting her arms out for him. Mickey shushes her softly, putting a finger to his lips and telling her “In a minute Pol, baby Roxy’s tryna go night night” 

“NOW!” The two year old screams, lunging forward with her arm raised to strike as she cries “BAD BABY! YOU GO ‘WAY!” Mickey catches her by the wrist, bringing her arm down firmly to her side as he warns “Polina Marie! We don’t hit! you be nice or you’re goin on time out!” 

“NO!” She screeches at the top of her lungs “yes!” Mickey tells her, not backing down “Don’t tell me no! Keep it up and you’re gonna be in trouble” “YOU be in trouble!” She shrieks, stomping her foot and running out of the bedroom, screaming the whole way. He hears her throw something, and then herself down in the living room, kicking and pounding her fists in a fit of rage. Mickey sighs and looks down at baby then, shocked and relieved to find that the chaos has put her right to sleep. 

He gets up carefully, laying her down in the crib and going after his little beast of a daughter. He finds her face down on the couch, crying her eyes out, and it breaks his heart. “Polly C’mere baby” he tells her as he kneels and puts out his arms, feeling guilty for scolding her when all she wants is his attention the way shes used to having it. 

The two year old whines, getting up and coming to him, her sobs turning into heaving breaths. She snuggles into his neck as he picks her up and hugs her close, wiping tears and snot from her red face with his hand. “MY Papa!” She wails. “I know I’m your papa, sweet girl” Mickey coos, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back “All yours, and brother’s and daddy’s, nobody else. It’s you and me til the end kid, I promise” 

The front door opens then and the Gallagher brothers enter with Yevgeny in tow, the little boy running off to play with Liam. “Half an hour guys, then we gotta get ready!” Ian calls after them, crossing the space to kiss his husband and daughter hello. “Wheres Roxy?” Carl asks, “sleepin” Mickey says, pointing to the kids bedroom, watching him go in before he turns back to Ian. “Why’s my princess pouty?” Ian asks, pouting his own lip and stroking Polina’s cheek as she nuzzles into his hand. 

“Cause she’s a brat” Mickey tells him fondly “Shes jealous, doesn’t like seeing me with Roxy” Lip laughs, teasing “sure you guys don’t want another baby?” “Are you out of your fucking mind?” Mickey snarks back “we got our hands full enough thank you, not to mention this one would smother it in the crib” 

“ME baby!” Polina shrieks, cuddling closer into Mickey’s neck and grabbing onto his shirt possessively, making her uncle Lip laugh at her ferocity. “That’s right Parrot, you’re our last baby” Ian assures her “no more babies after you” he kisses her on the cheek and pats her little butt as he whispers in her ear “don’t worry, I don’t like sharing Papa either” 

Mickey smirks at him, leaning in to give him a peck as Carl emerges with Liam beside him and a sleeping Roxanne in his arms. “We’ll meet you guys down there in an hour” Lip says with a grin, leading Liam, Carl, and Roxy out the door. 

Fiona and Iggy’s wedding turns out to be one of those extremely rare and beautiful Gallagher Milkovich family functions where nothing goes wrong. Under V’s stern instructions, the guys have done up the hall all in black ribbons and red flowers, the black tuxes and red bridesmaid’s dresses all matching, though none of them are the same style, as there wasn’t time to coordinate so much detail. 

The wedding party is huge, especially for being thrown together in just a week’s time. Once Fiona had agreed to marry him, Iggy had refused to wait any longer than he had to. In one of his recent tangents, Kev got ordained, so he’s officiating, leaving V, the maid of honor, to go down the aisle with Mickey, who Iggy has chosen as his best man. 

Each Milkovich brother or cousin proceeds with a bridesmaid, Mandy accompanying Tony while Jamie, Joey, and Colin are joined respectively by Tessa, Mel, and Sierra. Molly goes with Carl for old times sake and Lana escorts Liam, leaving Debbie and Sai to walk together. 

All the kids are on their best behavior, and cute as pie in little gray suits and pink dresses. Yevgeny walks down with Finn while Franny goes between Amy and Gemma, the three of them throwing fake flower petals and pulling Roxy along in a little wagon. Even the dynamic duo makes the trip without issue, Damien wearing a mischievous smirk as he drags Polina along by the hand. She’s still pouting from earlier, and runs into Mickey’s arms as soon as they reach the end of the aisle. 

Since Carl and Liam had done so for Debbie, Ian and Lip give Fiona away again, successfully this time, and with how beautiful and genuinely happy she looks, there’s hardly a dry eye in the place. Iggy can’t take his own eyes off her, grinning ear to ear with his shoulder still wrapped up securely beneath his tux. 

He takes her in his arms the minute she reaches him, stealing a quick pre-nuptial make out session and making everyone cat call until Kev says “alright settle down” and gets into the heart felt sermon he’s prepared. 

Frank manages to bust in at the last second, able to see his daughter seal the deal before he can cause any trouble. He continues to be so shockingly well behaved that Fiona lets him have a father daughter dance at the reception, one of two going on in the venue at the time. 

Polina’s bad attitude changes the minute she sets eyes on the dance floor, and Ian has finally found the dance partner of his dreams in his little girl. She doesn’t stop until she drops, entertaining everyone with her shameless moves until she finally falls asleep against his chest during a slow song. Mickey just laughs from his seat at the bar, taking pictures and videos with his phone. He’s grateful that for once, neither of his redheads are forcing any dancing on him, and enjoys reaching out to tickle Yevgeny every time he runs by with Finn, Liam, and the girls. 

Everyone has a wild time celebrating the newest Gallagher Milkovich union, but no one wilder than the bride and groom, who take several hair ruining bathroom breaks throughout the night. By the time the wedding ends, Mandy and Lip are the only completely sober ones (only because they have to be) and everyone’s got at least one sleeping child to carry home. 

Ian and Mickey come in the front door to find Svetlana, who left the wedding curiously early, standing behind the kitchen counter with a serious look on her face. “We must talk” she says, and Ian nods wearily, whispering “give us a second” as he leads Mickey into the kid’s bedroom to put them both down. When they emerge a few minutes later, she’s still standing there with her arms braced, eyeing them both sharply. “What is it?” Mickey asks “please tell me you ain’t fuckin knocked up again” 

“No” Svetlana scoffs, rolling her eyes “no more babies, I want tubes tied” both men sigh in relief “is that what this is about?” Ian asks, but she shakes her head. “No, it is about money, I am looking at books, bar cut is not enough, without rub n tug we do not make it” 

Ian tenses at that “we’ll be fine” he tries to assure her “I can take more shifts, we can -“ “no” she cuts him off “listen, I get call tonight, this is why I leave wedding, I have opportunity to make real money” 

“Great” Mickey says sarcastically, wishing she’d get to the point “how?” “I go back to Russia” she tells them, and Mickey explodes. “YOU’RE NOT TAKING OUR KIDS TO FUCKING RUSSIA!” He hollers, and Ian grabs onto his shoulder, warning “keep your voice down!” But he has no less fire in his eyes as he turns back to Svetlana. “No! No” she soothes, shaking her head and holding up her hands “I go alone, they stay here with you”

They both settle visibly at that, Mickey leaning into Ian’s side as the redhead puts his arm around him and asks “how long?” “Two years” she admits, and this time it’s Ian’s turn to explode, though in a whispered hiss. “Two fucking years?! Are you kidding me?! You’re just gonna leave us alone with these kids?! Yev’s never been without you before, this is gonna devastate him! Shit, Polly’s only two, Lana! She’s not even gonna remember!” 

“She will meet me again” Lana says with a sad smile, smirking at Mickey and making him scowl as she adds “you are mother anyways, Yevgeny will adjust, it is the same amount of time he was without you” Both fathers soften at that, guilt seeping in as they listen quietly. 

“You must understand” Svet goes on “My father is dying, he has built pimp empire in Saratov, I take care of him and he leaves me everything, I work on the side, send cash home, shut the whole thing down before I go, hustle til there is no more hustle, this is why it takes so long, then I go straight. I will have money to come back legally, start over. I become citizen, buy house of my own, I will ask Kev and V to keep bar in my name so I have job to come back to. Whatever babies need I will provide, whatever you need, I will help you. This is best option, for our family” 

The three of them are quiet for a moment before Mickey speaks, a look on his face that Ian’s never seen before. “Alright” he says, sighing deeply “when do you leave?” “Thursday” she says, and the couple cringe at the insanely short amount of time they’ve been given to prepare for this massive change.

“We need to get our shit in order” Ian says to Mickey “the house and all the bills in both our names, both of us should adopt the kids, Polina for you and Yevgeny for me, that way if anything happens to either of us, god forbid, there’s no question of where they both end up” Mickey nods, taking Ian’s hand and squeezing it. “And I get tubes tied in Russia” Lana adds “no more surprises” she pauses, a rare flicker of emotion in her eyes as she reaches across the counter for both of their free hands, which they each give to her.

“This is not easy” she admits “but I do not worry, you will all be fine here together, there is no one I would rather leave babies with than you. Two years is nothing in long run, it is worth the price, they deserve the life we never had”  
“They do” Mickey agrees “they really fuckin do”


	4. Because I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Svetlana departs, leaving Ian and Mickey to console a heartbroken Yevgeny

The days leading up to Lana leaving find everyone walking on eggshells. They have no idea what do with themselves, or how to help Yevgeny, who threw a massive fit upon being told that his mother was going away and hasn’t been himself since. Polina of course is too young to understand, but she can sense the tension in the house, as little ones always can, and has been even more difficult than usual.

On Wednesday evening, Svetlana puts the kids to bed by herself, Ian and Mickey trying to give her as much alone time with them as they can while she has it. They go down easily enough, but in the dead of night, all three of their parents are ripped from sleep by both children screaming at the top their lungs. 

“What the fuck?!” Mickey cries, on his feet first as he’s the lightest sleeper, and closer to the door. Ian is right behind him, both of them storming out of their room ready to kill, as there’s no reasonable explanation for both kids to be in distress without an emergency. What they find when they turn on the light is Yevgeny sitting up in bed, eyes wide in horror as he points to where his sister is wailing, still half asleep. 

They each go for one, Mickey stalking over to the crib as Ian sits on Yev’s bed, quickly pulling the shaking child into his arms and hugging him tightly. “What happened Bubba?” He asks, rubbing his back and kissing his temple as Mickey scoops Polly up, cradling her to his chest. She wakes fully at the movement, sobbing fitfully as he bounces her, rubbing their foreheads together and soothing “hey hey, it’s alright babygirl, I gotcha” 

Svetlana comes flying in then, going for Yev first and taking him from Ian’s lap. He shivers against her as she stands with him in her arms and lifts his face to look at it intently, seeing something familiar in his eyes. “Was it a Prizrak?” She asks, and Yevgeny nods, resting his head on her shoulder. “A fuckin what now?!” Mickey snaps, scared and confused by the whole situation, and she turns to him and says “Pryvyd?” 

The old Ukrainian word strikes a chord within Mickey, drawing something so far back out of his memory that he had nearly forgotten it was there. “Oh” he says, going stiff and quiet, not sure how to react. “English please!” Ian demands, his alarm growing with every second that he doesn’t understand what’s going on with his babies. 

“It means ghost” Svetlana explains quietly “probably one of my relatives coming to check in. It is normal for small children to see this. Especially Russian, especially girls, Polina will see more than Yevgeny because of this” 

“Fuckin great” Mickey says sarcastically, holding his daughter tighter in his arms and hugging her protectively. “You saw a ghost, bud?” Ian asks Yevgeny tentatively, and the little boy nods. “I woke up and there was a man by Polly’s crib” he explains in a horrified whisper “I told him “you leave my sissy alone!” And then he poofed away when you turned on the light” 

“Good job kiddo” Mickey tells him, coming over to kiss his face and nuzzle it as he mutters “stupid dead fuckers better leave my babies alone or they’ll have me to deal with” “you’re so brave, sweet boy” Ian tells him, smoothing his hair back and kissing it “such a good big brother”. 

“Is there anything we can do to stop that shit?” Mickey asks, and Lana shakes her head “not stop for good, but send away, yes” she hands Yev to Ian as she says “hold on” and disappears into her room. Ian and Mickey share a look, their fear of Svet leaving increasing ten fold after this disturbing event that they both know will take some time to process. 

She appears a moment later with a sage stick and a lighter, along with a little notebook and a small bottle of holy water. Ian moves to stand by Mickey, both fathers watching her carefully and each tightly clutching the child in their arms. Lana lights the sage and swirls it around them both, reading whispered prayers in Russian from the little notebook as she dips her thumb into the water and smears some onto each child’s forehead. 

She seals the blessing with a kiss for each of them, placing the items on the kid’s bookshelf before she turns back. “I will leave these here for you” she explains “for when I am gone, we go back to bed now, I take babies, they should be with me anyway” Ian nods, offering her Yevgeny who goes to his mother without question, tucking his face into her neck as she sets him on her hip and reaches for Polly with the other arm. 

“No!” The two year old whines, clinging to Mickey with all of her strength and burying her face in his shoulder. “You don’t wanna go with mama, sweetheart?” Ian coaxes, hoping she will only for Lana’s sake as he leans over to gently rub her back. “Yeah Pocket, go snuggle Mama and Yevy” Mickey encourages, nuzzling her ear with nose, but the little girl has none of it. 

“NO!” Polina screams “Daddy, Papa!” She turns and reaches for Ian then, who takes her from Mickey and hugs her close in his arms, kissing her temple and rocking her softly as she whimpers, snuggling into his neck. “Alright baby ok, we take you with us, Papa and Daddy keep you safe, I promise” 

“It is ok” Svetlana tells them, a soft, sad, smile crossing her features “you are her comfort, maybe it is better this way for now” She leads them all out then, turning off the light. Ian and Mickey both kiss Yev, and Lana steals a smooch from her pesky little daughter before they each go back to their rooms for the night. 

Mickey gets back in bed, Ian going around to his side with the toddler and setting her down beside his husband as he climbs in after them. Polina immediately grabs onto Mickey, burrowing into his neck and reaching out to pull her other dad in close too so that she’s pressed between them. “Did that dumb ol’ ghostie scare you huh angel?” Ian coos, smoothing her hair back and she lifts her face to pout at him, nodding and whispering “man” 

They make eye contact over her head at the repetition of what Yev said. Unable to deny it to themselves now even if they were going to try, and hating the idea of anyone, alive or dead, looking in on their children while they sleep. “They can’t hurt you, Princess” Mickey assures her, kissing her forehead “Daddy and Papa’ll never let anyone hurt you, I promise, well beat em up” 

“Lets go night night, Parrot” Ian tells her, kissing the back of her head “we got you now, everything’s ok” the little girl closes her eyes, putting her thumb in her mouth. They both croon to her softly until she falls back to sleep and they’re left staring at each other helplessly over her head. 

“You believe in that shit?” Mickey whispers, and Ian nods wearily “Fionas told me before that I used to see em” he whispers, and Mickey smiles grimly “us too, haven’t thought about it in years, but I remember my mom doin that same thing to Mandy ‘n me, only the prayers were in Ukrainian” “wished somebody had prayed over me” Ian mutters and Mickey smiles. “I’ll do it” he says “we’re gonna have to learn anyway” “thanks love” Ian says, leaning in for a kiss over the top of their daughter’s head. 

“How the fuck are we gonna do this alone?” Mickey whispers when they pull back, and Ian cups his cheek “were gonna be ok, Mick” he whispers back “it’ll be hard but we won’t be alone, we’ll all get through it, together” “together” Mickey echos him, turning his lips into Ian’s palm and kissing it. 

The drive to the airport the next evening is a tense one. Mickey drives, Ian beside him on the passenge side. Both of them are quiet, listening as Svetlana sits in the back with both children, speaking to them softly in Russian and getting in all the kisses she can. They arrive and get her checked in (falsified passport and all) and wait as they long as they possibly can before she has to go through security. 

When it’s time, she hugs both men first. “Be safe” Ian tells her “and call us” Mickey adds, and she nods to both of them, taking Polina from Mickey and hugging her the longest she ever has. “You be good for your Papas huh kukla? ya tak sil'no tebya lyublyu” she kisses the little girl, fighting her tears as she breathes her in one more time and hands her to Ian. 

Lana kneels before Yevgeny then and he grabs onto her neck, burying his face in it as he begins to cry. His mother hugs him tight and shushes him softly, rocking him back and forth in her arms for a moment before she pulls back and looks at him intently, wiping his tears. “You must be strong, detka” she tells him “I do this only because I love you so much, look out for your sister, your papas will take good care of you both” Yevgeny nods through his sobs, and she smiles “you are my brave boy, ya vsegda s toboy, everything will be ok” 

She kisses him all over his face, breathing him in too before she gets up. Lana has tears in her eyes, but refuses to let them fall as she blows them all a kiss and turns to go, luggage clunking along behind her until she passes through security and disappears into the crowded terminal. “Mama!” Yevgeny wails “Mama don’t go!” 

He tries to run after her, but Mickey’s got his arms around him before he can, kneeling behind him and pulling him back against his chest “I know Bubba” he soothes, kissing his shoulder “she’ll be back, it’s gonna be ok” “say bye mama” Ian tells Polina softly, trying to remain calm and positive despite the tears prickling his eyes. The two year old waves wildly and repeats him, chirping “Bye mama! Bye mama!” Having no idea how long it’ll be before she sees her mother again. 

“Mama!” Yevgeny continues to scream “vozvrashchaysya mama!” Mickey picks him up, turning him into his neck and hugging him tightly “I gotcha kid, Papas gotcha” he soothes, bouncing the seven year old like an infant in his arms as he rubs and pats his back. “Let’s go” he tells Ian worriedly and his husband nods, putting his free arm around them and heading out of the busy airport. 

Yev continues to scream for his mother all the way to the car and it throws Polina off. She begins to fuss alongside him, not used to seeing her brother so upset. “Aw don’t worry Parrot” Ian tells her, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek “Yevy’s gonna be ok, lets get you guys home. Why don’t you get in the back with them Papa? I’ll drive” 

The former con nods, handing over the keys and climbing into with the middle with Yev still cradled in his arms. Ian straps Polina in, going around and getting in the driver’s seat while Mickey buckles the little boy up. He takes her hand and hugs his son close on the other side, crooning to them both softly and kissing Yev’s face. Ian and Mickey steal worried glances in the rearview the whole way, already feeling the pressure and panic of Svetlana’s absence. 

When they pull up to the house, Ian parks and turns to look at the three of them. His heart filled with love and concern for his little family, especially his son. Polina settled easily enough on the drive, but Yev is showing no signs of stopping his wailing, his voice already hoarse and his face red and swollen. 

Ian gets out of the front seat, moving to open the back, and Yevgeny screams “DADDY!” And grabs onto him the minute he gets the door open “woah hey buddy, it’s ok” Ian soothes, hugging him tightly and kissing him on the side of the head as Mickey rubs his back “Daddy’s right here, not going anywhere I promise”

Ian carries him inside and sits him on the couch, pulling him close as Mickey lets Polina down to play and comes to sit on the other side. Yevgeny works himself up into a frenzy, his sobs turning into wheezes, as his asthma begins acting up from the shock his poor little body is in. 

“Yevy, Breathe baby” Ian tells him, wiping the sticky tears from his face, and Yevgeny gasps, sputtering out ragged breaths as Ian tightens his arms around him, rubbing his chest the way he does Mickey’s when he’s having anxiety “take deep breathes for me sweet boy, I promise it’s gonna be ok” 

“In and out kiddo, you’re doin great” Mickey tells him quietly, taking deep breaths for him to match as Yev grabs his hand to squeeze. “I’m gonna get your inhaler ok? Can Papa get up and do that?” Yevgeny sniffs and nods, finally starting to calm down a little, but still wheezing where he leans against Ian’s side. The redhead holds him close and rocks him, kissing his forehead as he smoothes a thumb along his cheekbone. It makes Ian want to cry too, thinking about how he got that particular feature from his mother. 

Mickey goes off into the bedroom and returns quickly, sitting down beside them again and shaking the little inhaler in his hand. He holds it up for Yev, pushing the trigger for him to puff on a few times. “There we go” he soothes as his sons airway begins to clear of snot and spit, finally allowing him to take deep shuddering breaths. Mickey kisses his temple and rests his forehead against it, the two of them wrapped securely around their boy as they wait patiently for his little body to settle. 

A nudge makes all three of them look up, both dads hearts warming to see Polly standing before them, leaning against their knees with a concerned look on her little face. “Yevy sad?” she asks, and Ian nods, stroking a hand through her hair as she rests her head on her brothers leg. “Yeah baby, he’ll be ok, just needs some lovin” 

“I kiss make better” the little girl announces, climbing up into Yev’s lap and planting a big slobbery kiss on him, which he accepts as he hugs her close. “Good job sissy” Mickey tells her proudly, patting her little bum “love that brother right up” The four of them stay curled together this way until Polina’s stomach grumbles, reminding the adults in the room that it’s dinner time. 

“What do you want to eat, lovebug?” Ian asks Yev, taking his sister off his lap and into his own “we can have whatever you want tonight”. The little boy furrows his brow in response, leaning into Mickey’s shoulder and murmuring solemnly “I’m not hungry”. His dads share a look at that, since Yev has never been one to pass up food. “You gotta eat something, little man” Mickey tells him, but the child shakes his head, turning his face into his father’s shoulder. “Not even breakfast for dinner?” Ian asks, rubbing his back “or dessert first? We have ice cream in the freezer” 

“ICE CREAM!” Polly shrieks with delight and Mickey rolls his eyes. “No” Yevgeny insists “I’m sleepy, I wanna take a nap” “ok big guy” Ian agrees warily “I’m gonna take Sissy and go make something ok? You and Papa nap, you can eat when you wake up” Yevgeny nods, leaning further into Mickey who pulls him to rest belly down on top of himself, laying back and hugging him close with the little boy’s head on his chest. 

Ian gives them both a kiss, setting Polina on his hip and telling her “cmon little chef” as he carries her into the kitchen, tickling her belly to make her laugh. “Papa?” Yev asks and Mickey whispers “hm?” As he rubs his son’s back. Yevgeny pauses, getting choked up again as he asks “she’s coming back right?” 

Mickey’s heart breaks as he hugs the child tightly, kissing him on the head. “Of course she is, Bub. It’s gonna be a while like we talked about, but she’s coming back. She would never leave you guys for good, she loves you so much” Mickey pauses, choosing his words carefully as he continues. “Do you remember when Daddy and I had to go away for awhile?” 

“Kinda” Yev admits and Mickey’s heart swells as he goes on “we just had some stuff to figure out before we could be the best dads for you, this is kinda like that” Yevgeny thinks about this for a moment “but you’re not going away again right?” He asks, and Mickey squeezes him, fighting his own emotions as he swears “Never, baby boy. Daddy and I will never leave again, we’re staying right here with you forever, I promise”


	5. Yevgeny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yevgeny struggles with his mother’s absence, needing the support of his family to help him adjust

Mickey keeps Yevgeny home from school the next day, Ian calling his teacher to let her know what’s going on. They figure letting him have a long weekend to adjust is a good idea, especially since none of them had gotten much rest the night before. The little boy had woken up several times, screaming for his mother until his dads calmed him back to sleep for another few hours. 

Ian is forced to sneak out to work the next morning, and comes home in the evening to find his family back on the couch waiting for him. Yev is asleep with his head on Mickey’s thigh as the Milkovich man plays quietly with Polina, who toddles back and forth between the TV and his side. She brings him toys and takes them back from him, repeating the gesture each time he puts his finger to his lips to remind her that her brother is sleeping. 

“Hey” Ian whispers, pecking Mickey’s mouth and the top of Polly’s head before he leans over Yevgeny and smoothes his hair back “he eat anything yet?” Mickey shakes his head “not even half a pop tart” he mutters, and Ian sighs, kneeling beside the couch. “Poor baby” he whispers “we’ve gotta get some food in him” and Mickey nods, a guilty looks crossing his features. 

“I fucked up a while ago” he admits “that’s why he’s out now, cried himself to sleep, again. I feel like an asshole, didn’t know it was gonna set him off or I woulda kept my damn mouth shut”. Ian furrows his brow in concern “It was an accident, Mick. I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean it, What happened?” 

The ex thug sighs, looking down as he explains “I told him he could have his own room again and we’d do it up however he wanted. Poor kid lost his shit, started screamin and cryin, I had to promise him we wouldn’t move any of her things so he could go visit em when he’s missin her” Ian softens, moving closer on his knees to cup Mickey’s cheek. 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, baby” he coos “You were trying to give him something to be excited about. It’s not your fault it backfired, and you handled it perfect when it did. It’s gonna take us all some time to get used to this, and we’re gonna make mistakes. He knows how much we love him and that we’re doing our best, that’s all we can do. Everything’ll be alright I promise” 

Mickey leans over for a pouty kiss, which Ian gives him, smiling softly into his mouth before he pulls back and says “now lets get some dinner goin” he eyes Polina sneakily as he says “I’m so hungry I could eat a whole bird” The little girl shrieks at that, all resolve to be quiet going out the window as Ian scoops her up bridal style in his arms and stands with her. 

He tries to move away from the sleeping boy as he chews playfully on her neck and tummy, but it’s too late. They’ve both made their own mistake and woken him up. “Daddy!” Yevgeny cries, reaching for Ian who comes back over with the little girl on his hip, murmuring “Hi bub” and putting his lips out for a kiss, which the little guy gives him. “Tag you’re it” Mickey mutters, getting up so his husband can take his spot. He goes into the kitchen, calling over his shoulder “you guys play with daddy, I’ll make dinner”

Yev throws his arms around Ian who hugs him close, rubbing his back gently as he lets Polly down to play again and pulls his son into his lap. “You left” the seven year old accuses, and Ian levels with him, knowing that this will be an ongoing issue if he doesn’t address it. “I went to work, Yevy. You know Daddy has to go to work, but I always come back right?” Yev pouts but nods, cuddling closer into his father who smiles and kisses the top of his head. 

Ian tries to make light of the situation as he jokes “I promise I won’t go anywhere else without you ok? but if I don’t go to work and make money, we won’t have food for you and sissy, then she’ll get so skinny she’ll be a vulture instead of a parrot!” Yev laughs at that, and Ian tickles him to keep it going, loving the joyous sound he hasn’t heard from his little boy in much too long for his liking. 

When Mickey’s finished with dinner (which is Mac n cheese AND chicken nuggets in the hopes that Yevgeny won’t be able to resist two of his favorite foods) they all sit down at the table to eat, Polina in her high chair on the end and Yev between his dads along one side. The little redhead scarfs hers down without question, but Yev still won’t touch it. “Please baby, just a few bites?” Ian begs, holding up the spoon for him, but he shakes his head, not defiant so much as uninterested and depressed.

“What if we call mama?” Mickey suggests “will you eat for her?” and Yev stops in his tracks, lip caught between his teeth as he carefully nods. He waits patiently as his father sets up FaceTime, propping up the phone on the table in front of his plate. When Svetlana’s face appears on the small screen, Yev lights up, and she beams back at him. 

“Privet, lyubimyy!” She says “I wish I can kiss your face!” “Hey” Mickey says, leaning over into view as Ian gets Polina out of the highchair and brings her over on the other side. “Look who it is!” He tells the two year old, greeting “Hi mama!” for both of them. “Hi mama!” Polly chirps after him, waving as her mother laughs. “Hi Gudki! Everyone say hello to Grandpa!” 

Svetlana turns the phone to face a sickly old man with a several tubes coming out of his face, scaring the living daylights out of her daughter who screams bloody murder. Polina jumps from Ian’s lap and runs to hide behind the couch. “Aw Pocket it’s ok!” Mickey calls, trying not to laugh as he gets up and goes after her. “Monster!” She wails, burying her face in his neck as he scoops her up and hugs her close. “No babygirl no monster” he promises “just a sick old grandpa” 

“Can you please tell your son he needs to eat?” Ian asks Lana “he hasn’t touched a bite of food since you left” and her face drops in worry before flaring with maternal anger. Yev scowls at his dad for snitching, but the minute he hears his mother’s stern voice, he straightens right up. “Yevgeny!” She cries “eto ne khorosho! If you don’t eat how will you stay big and strong to take care of your sister like you promise me huh? You must take care of yourself for Mama too. Eat, sleep, play, go to school, and you listen to your papas or Ya otshlepayu tebya, kogda vernus! ponimayesh?!” 

It appears that being scolded by his mom is exactly what he needed, because Yev picks up his fork and begins to eat right that minute, clearing his plate and downing his milk. “Atta boy!” Ian tells him, hugging him around the shoulders and kissing his hair “I’ll leave you guys to talk for a while, ok?” He gets up and crosses into the living room, joining his husband and daughter on the couch. 

“Good thinking babe” Ian tells Mickey, hugging Polly close as she crawls from one father’s lap to the other, but the dark haired man looks unconvinced. “It worked” he agrees “but we’re not gonna be able to call her every time we need to feed him, or get him to do anything else, what do we do then?” 

“I don’t think food will be a problem again” Ian tells him “if she talked to me like that, once would be enough. We’ll just have to take the rest as it comes, Mick” he pauses “Maybe we can ask Dahlia about it. I know she sees adults, but she’s still a therapist, and a mom. She might know some things we can do to help him”  
“Good thinkin, babe” Mickey repeats with a smirk, and Ian returns it. 

Talking to his mom has Yev acting almost like his old self again, and it warms his dads hearts, but another problem arises when Svet has to end the call and go to work, since it’s morning on her side of the world. Yevgeny puts on a surprisingly brave face for his mother, but crumbles the minute she hangs up, sobbing into his empty plate.

“Aw kiddo” Mickey says, getting up and going over. He picks the child up and brings him back to the couch, settling down with his son on his lap and hugging him tight. The three of them cuddle up to Yev as he cries it out, wails turning into heaving breaths. “Maybe it was a little too soon huh?” Ian asks quietly, wiping his nose, and the little boy nods, sniffling “I need to go potty” 

“Alright let’s go” Mickey tells him, lifting him up to stand beside the couch and patting the seat of his pants. He gets up to follow as he explains to Ian “he doesn’t wanna be alone so I’ve been goin with him all day, and that one” he says, pointing to Polina “has been goin with us” 

“I go!” She says, as if he reminded her that she needed to, getting up to tag along as Ian laughs and says “guess I’ll go too, family pee” Mickey rolls his eyes, laughing as Yev tells them honestly “but I don’t just have to pee” 

They pile into the bathroom, Mickey sitting on the edge of the tub and Ian leaning against the sink as Polly stoops to dig in her tub of bath toys. Yev opens his pants, peeing before he pulls them down and sits on the toilet. “Not that much came out” he complains after a moment as he wipes himself and gets up. 

“That’s cause you haven’t eaten tough guy” Mickey explains “yeah” Ian adds as the seven year old flushes and goes to wash his hands “you got nothin in your belly to poop out” “POOP OUT!” Polina squeals, laughing, and making them all laugh along with her. 

Mickey goes after his son, all the talk of peeing making him feel the urge. Ian sits on the tub’s edge as he relieves himself and goes to wash his hands, caught up in conversation with Yevgeny who is now seated beside him. No one has their eyes on Polina Marie, and the little redhead sees this as her golden opportunity. 

“My turn!” She says, pulling down her diaper as if it’s a pair of boxers. The little girl stands in front of the toilet like a boy, lifting her shirt up out of the way like she’s seen her dads and brother do and promptly peeing down her own leg. Yevgeny howls with laughter, both parents turning to look and joining him at the ridiculous sight. 

“Aye!” Mickey says as he hurries the few steps back, picking her up and quickly turning her around to sit so she can finish peeing into the pot properly. He can’t stop himself from chuckling as he tells her “you sit, remember we told you squirt? That’s what big girls do” “No” Polina says calmly, not stating that she doesn’t remember, so much as doesn’t agree. Ian sighs and shakes his head with laughter “that’s another issue we’ve got on our hands” he says, going to wipe up the mess on the ground and toilet before wiping Polly herself “whose gonna teach her to pee like a girl?” 

“We’ll pay Aunt Mandy” Mickey says, smirking “Princess needs a bath anyway, might as while do it we’re in here” he takes the two year old down from the toilet, pulling off her remaining clothes as Ian nods, flushing the mess and going over to turn on the tap. He runs his hand under the water to test the temperature, finding it warm. “Damn now I gotta pee too” the redhead sighs, getting up to do so as Mickey sets Polina in the tub and turns around to Yev. “You wanna get in with her bud?” He asks, and the little boy nods, beginning to undress himself. 

The evening goes on smoothly all the way through bedtime. After the bath, they put the kids in their pajamas and Ian reads them a story. He and Mickey tuck Polly in first so that Yev can have some special alone time with the two of them, and they can get at least a few hours of sleep without two sets of little knees in their backs. The three of them watch a movie on the couch, and when it’s over Yevgeny goes down easily in their bed, sleeping heavily between his dads as he’s had another exhausting day. 

It’s not until the middle of the night that they’re awoken by him whimpering, and this time, it’s for a different reason. “Whatsamatter bug?” Ian asks, opening his groggy eyes to find his son curled up against the headboard. Mickey sits up, bracing himself on the mattress and lifting his hand again to find it sopping wet. Ian rises beside him and pulls back the covers to reveal a puddle of dark liquid pooled between them, seeping slowly onto both their sides of the bed. 

“Aw Bubba did you have an accident?” Mickey asks as his husband turns on the lamp, and Yev nods, hanging his head. “I’m sorry!” He sobs, and both his dads hearts break. “Oh baby c’mere” Ian croons, pulling him into his lap and smoothing back his messy hair from his face “it’s ok, don’t be sorry, sweet boy, you didn’t do anything wrong. Accidents happen, that’s what washing machines are for right?” 

Yev hiccups and sniffles, cuddling closer into Ian who hugs him tight to his chest and kisses his temple, resting his lips there. “Did you have a nightmare?” he asks, and the seven year old nods, whispering “Mama didn’t come back, and I was so sad that I cried and cried and peed my pants, but then when I woke up, I was peeing for real, only it wasn’t just in my pants, it was in the bed” 

He starts to cry again, and Mickey shushes him softly, leaning over to rub his back. “It’s no big deal little man” he promises “You know we’d never get mad at ya. Sissy pees in our bed all the time” but Yev just cries louder at that, wailing “but shes a baby! I’m supposed to big! I’m supposed to take care of her!” 

“Hey hey” Mickey soothes, climbing over the mess to get closer to his husband and son. He wipes Yev’s tears and strokes his cheek, smiling softly at the little boy as he presses their foreheads together. “You are big, Yevy. You’re being so brave for your sister and your mom, but you don’t have to be brave all the time alright? it’s ok get sad and scared and feel whatever else you feel, especially with daddy and me, that’s why we’re here. We got you bud, both of you, no matter what” 

Mickey pauses, looking at Ian who smiles tiredly back at him, reaching out to run a hand through his messy black hair. “I’ll tell you a secret, kid” Mickey whispers, preparing to share something very personal and embarrassing with his son. “Nobody knows this, but Papas wet the bed before too, as a grown up” “really?” Yev asks, astonished and Mickey nods “ask daddy” he tells him “he cleaned me up” 

Yevgeny looks to the redhead with wide eyes, who confirms it with his own nod. “It can happen to anyone, sweetie” he assures the little boy “It’s just one of those things. What do you say we get you cleaned up now huh? Then we can all snuggle up and go back to sleep” 

The child nods, wiping his face and climbing off the mattress so Ian and Mickey can strip it down, putting on new sheets from the laundry basket at the end of the bed and tossing the dirty ones into their place. “I’m gonna go get you some new pjs ok buddy?” Ian asks, and Yev nods once more, letting Mickey peel off his dirty ones and toss them in the basket with the soiled sheets before he wipes him down with baby wipes from the nearby dresser. 

Ian returns a moment later with new clothes over one shoulder and Polly tucked into the other. “Somebody was lonely in there all by herself” he says through pouted lips, and Mickey smirks tiredly, getting up and coming over to take her into his own arms, kissing her above the ear. The Milkovich man goes to his side of the now clean bed and lays down, settling the little girl back to sleep on his chest as Ian puts the clean clothes on Yevgeny.

Once he’s dressed, Yev climbs back into bed beside Mickey, resting his head on his shoulder as his dad wraps his free arm around him and kisses his hair. “Will you leave a light on daddy?” he asks and Ian nods, murmuring “of course, little man” 

He quickly changes his own boxers (dirtied by his son sitting on them) and flicks on the bathroom light. The redhead joins his family under the covers then, turning off the lamp and curling up to them all. “Love you guys” he whispers, putting his arm over Yevgeny, and his two boys whisper it back, Polina unable to answer as she’s already dead to the world on top of her Papa.


	6. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A massive snow storm hits Chicago, sending the whole family into the Gallagher basement for safety

As the days pass, the snow, which should be melting now that it’s early March, is hanging on for one last blizzard, and it’s said to be the biggest one Chicago’s seen in the last 30 years. The news has warned everyone to take underground cover, and since no one in the family has a basement besides the Gallaghers, everyone’s planning to pile down there to wait it out. 

By the time Ian gets home that evening, Mickey’s got everything and everyone ready to go. Both children are bundled up so heavily that you can barely see their faces, looking like little eskimos with practically only their eyes showing. 

“Take this” he tells Ian, putting Polina in one arm and a full duffle bag in the other. “Jesus!” Ian gasps at the heaviness “what’s in here?! fuckin rocks?!” 

“Don’t forget Geico” Mickey reminds Yev, who nods, going to fetch his new pet with his own backpack strapped to his back. At Dahlia’s suggestion, Ian and Mickey had gotten him a little friend to help him cope with his mother leaving. Since they were nowhere near ready for a cat or dog, they had settled on a baby Gecko, which Yevgeny had hilariously named “Geico” after the famous insurance commercials that featured one. 

“Can’t leave the lizard alone in the blizzard” Ian jokes, and Mickey smirks and rolls his eyes, shuffling another full backpack onto one of his own shoulders and Polly’s diaper bag onto the other. When Yev reappears with Geico in his little plastic home, he takes Mickey’s hand and the 4 of them trudge out into the swirling snow. 

They pile into the truck where Ian packed blankets and pillows the night before, along with the sleeping bags, air mattress, and pump he had bought with the intention of taking the kids camping this summer, or as Mickey says “If summer even fuckin decides to come”. As they arrive at the Gallagher house, the wind is already starting to whip harder, nipping at their cheeks and noses as they grab their supplies and hurry inside. 

Everyone’s already down in the basement settling in, each set of adults taking up a section of basement wall to make their beds against. Debbie and Sai are against the stair wall with Mandy, Lip, and Damien, Kev and V on their left with Fiona, Iggy, and Fiona’s little dog, Rusty. Carl is against the back wall with Roxy already asleep in his arms, furniture piled on one side of him and one of Mickey’s infamous space heaters turned up to full blast on the other. 

This leaves the right wall at the base of the stairs for Ian, Mickey and Polina. Yevgeny, though he’s been sleeping with his dads every night for the last week, peels off his layers and goes right for his cousins, dropping his sleeping bag where all the kids have set up their beds in the middle of the room. “There you are!” Carl exclaims “we were starting to worry!” “I got off late” Ian explains, setting Polly down and unwrapping her cocoon of winter clothes as Mickey goes to set up the air mattress “lot of accidents happening with the snow” “Can we hold Geico?!” Liam asks Yev, the others agreeing as he nods, going to set the little guy’s tank up on one of the back tables by Carl and Roxy before taking him out carefully and bringing him over. 

The minute she’s free, the little redhead makes a b line for Damien, who is playing with a set of blocks at his parents feet. She pounces on him and they begin to wrestle, making Mandy and Lip laugh as he rubs her round belly. “Come get your toys, goobers” Mickey calls and the two of them run over as he takes Polina’s toys out of the diaper bag, making them laugh as he throws stuffed animals at them playfully while Ian makes up the bed. “Shit” Mandy hisses suddenly, taking in a sharp breath through her teeth and catching everyone’s attention. “You ok sis?” Iggy asks her and she nods, muttering “Fine, just Braxton Hicks” “I remember Kassidi having those” Carl says, and Kev nods in agreement, joking “almost got my hand broken on a couple” “me too” Sai tells him. “They hurt just as bad as real contractions” V says “worse cause they don’t get you anywhere” Debbie adds. “When are you due again?” Fiona asks her and she complains “next week, but I hope she doesn’t wait that long, my back is fuckin killin me”

“let’s just wait out the storm at least” Ian chuckles and Mandy rolls her eyes and nods “yeah, go into labor upstairs if anything” Mickey teases “its a little cramped to be squeezin a kid out down here” earning a snarky look from Lip who says “don’t jinx it” 

The night goes on comfortably enough, despite the loud wind outside. the adults talking and laughing while the kids play, running around now that Yev has put Geico safely back in his cage. “Somebody pooped” Kev says after a while, wrinkling his nose and looking between the three children still in diapers. 

“It’s probably the bird” Mickey says “she had prunes with dinner” “again?!” Ian gasps “no wonder shes a little shit machine” and Mickey raises his eyes brows and snaps back “Yeah so what? They help her go and she likes em, Don’t know why, they’re fuckin disgusting” 

Ian laughs, putting his arms out for the toddler and telling her “C’mere Polly Pocket lets change your dipe” He opens the diaper bag as she toddles over from where she and Damien are playing, letting her daddy lay her down between his legs before he goes digging for what he needs. Distress crosses Ian’s features as he tells Mickey “there’s no more diapers in here!” 

“Settle down Firecrotch, they’re right here” Mickey tells him, grabbing the duffle bag and shuffling it over between them on the air mattress as he opens it up. “I only put her clothes and toys in the diaper bag so she’d have room for enough of em, thats what Yevy has in his backpack too, and I put clothes in the other bag for us. Dipes and wipes are with the important shit, see?” He opens the bag for Ian to riffle through, the redhead’s heart warming when he sees the “shit” that Mickey’s dubbed important. Along side several packs of baby wipes and about a million diapers, Ian’s EMT bag is there with all the medical supplies they could possibly need in an emergency. 

His husband has packed water bottles and canned goods, snacks for the kids and a thermos of milk for Polina, since she still likes to go to sleep with a bottle, an empty one of which is also present. They’ve got flash lights and extra batteries, candles, matches and lighters, and phone chargers for them both. He’s even remembered to pack Geico’s meal worms so the little guy doesn’t starve either. 

“You thought of literally everything didn’t you?” Ian asks, cupping Mickey’s cheek and stroking it with his thumb. The ex con shrugs, suddenly bashful at the recognition as he mutters “well yeah, we could get fuckin snowed in here, not tryna leave us high and dry” Ian grins, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. 

The tender moment is rudely interrupted when their daughter lets out a massive fart, sounding more like it came from a grown man than a two year old girl and reminding Ian why he went into the bag in the first place. Everyone laughs, but no one more than Polina herself. “You little stinker!” Ian chuckles, lifting up her legs and pulling off her pants so he can open her diaper up. 

“Told ya it was the prunes” Mickey says, handing Ian more wipes as he cleans up the absolute mess shes made. “Musta been” Ian says, tickling her belly and teasing “that’s not very lady like!” “You lady!” Polly tells him, making everyone howl in laughter again, no one more than Ian himself. “She told your ass!” Mickey says, wiping his eyes which are wet from laughing so hard. 

Once she’s all cleaned up, Ian puts her Pjs on and let’s her run free again, going up the stairs to toss the rolled up poop diaper out the back door into the snow so it doesn’t stink up the place. Even from the cover of the back porch roof, a huge gust of icy wind hits him in the face, he almost has to fight the force of it to get the door shut again and lock it. 

The snow is pounding on the windows so violently that it makes Ian weary. He hurries back downstairs and under the covers beside Mickey, who pulls him close, rubbing at his cold skin as he shivers, muttering “really coming down out there” 

By the time bedtime rolls around, most of the kids have exhausted themselves in playing, having run around the small basement so many times that they’ve hardly got any energy left. They retire to their sleeping bags, Liam taking Franny and Finn each on one side of him as Yevgeny snuggles up between the twins, who have been showing him some extra cousin love since Svetlana left. 

“Bedtime, squirt” Mickey calls to Polly, patting his thigh, and she comes right to him, curling up on her Papa’s chest and resting her head on his shoulder. “Here you go, babygirl” Ian coos, handing her a freshly made bottle and kissing her cheek, stroking it with the back of his hand as she takes it. Before she gets even half way through with it, the little girl is fast asleep, trading the plastic nipple for the comfort of her own thumb. 

Mickey sets the bottle aside, smoothing her hair back as he kisses her forehead and breathes her in. Ian pulls the blankets up to her chin, tucking them in before patting her little bottom and rubbing her back gently. He wraps his arms around both of them then, Mickey leaning into his chest as they both settle back, getting comfortable beneath the covers. 

Damien, however, decides that he is not ready for bed at all, and sets his jaw stubbornly “No sleep!” He tells his mother, who is too tried and pregnant to have much patience with him. “Yes, sleep! Get your little ass over here!” “NO!” He hollers and she struggles to rise, failing and warning instead “don’t you make me get up! You’ll regret it!” “Listen to mommy, buddy” Lip tells him, remaining calm “come lay down” 

“NO LAY!” The two year old yells, picking up one of his blocks. Where Polina is sassy and stubborn, Damien is downright violent, clearly in touch with his Milkovich side. He throws the block at his parents and picks up another, continuing to chuck them with all his might. 

“DAMIEN MICHAEL GALLAGHER YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!” Mandy screams, getting so worked up that she goes into another Braxton Hicks. When Lip turns to tend to her, ignoring the little boy, he throws one at his mothers belly, just missing it, and his dad has seen enough. 

He has to hold up a hand to protect his face from the viciously flying blocks as he moves to grab his son, picking him up roughly as he thrashes. Lip takes the last block from his hand and throws it down, only making him scream louder. “Bring him to me!” Mandy says, and Lip does as she says, the child kicking viciously the whole way. The minute she gets her hands on him, Mandy turns him around and swats him sharply on the diaper, crying “enough!” 

“You don’t do that!” Lip tells him sternly as he takes him back from her and lays him down on his chest “you could’ve hurt your mom and the baby! it’s time for bed now!” Damien struggles against Lip’s hold for a few minutes, fighting until he exhausts himself and finally falls asleep on his dad. Mandy rubs her belly tiredly, Lip putting an arm around her and kissing her on the head. “You ok mama?” He asks, and she nods, cuddling up to him.

“Man and I thought this one was a handful” Mickey chuckles, looking down at Polina who is still snoozing soundly in his arms, thumb having fallen from her mouth. “You were probably no better” Ian tells him, making Mickey chuckle “fuck you” as he presses his lips against his collar bone. “Don’t miss those days” V says, leaning on Kev’s shoulder and looking at Debbie and Sai as she asks “you?” 

The two of them are quiet a moment, looking at each other before they turn back. “Actually” Sai says “we were gonna wait to say anything but uh...” Debbie beams at all of them as she announces “we’re pregnant too” 

There’s an uproar from all the adults in the room, overjoyed for them, but annoyed that they weren’t already told. “Jesus!” Fiona cries “can anyone in this family stop reproducing!? Are we Gallaghers or are we fuckin rabbits?!” “You next” Iggy purrs, putting a hand on her stomach, and Fiona slaps it away, giving him an incredulous look. “Are you out of your damn mind!?” she screeches “Five is enough thank you very much!” 

“Not happy for me this time either?” Debbie asks, only half joking, and Fiona softens “of course I’m happy for you Debs, you’re a kick ass mom and wife. You were so young with Franny, I only tried to give you tough love cause I was scared for you. I’m so proud of the life you’ve made for yourself, don’t ever question that ok?” Debbie smiles softly at this, getting up and going over to hug Fiona, who pulls her close and kisses her hair. Everyone settles down after that, slowly nodding off into sleep one by one.

In the middle of the night, a tree branch breaks and hits the side of the house, waking Yevgeny with a start. The seven year old shivers, wrapping an arm tighter around his stuffed giraffe George (who he still sleeps with every night) and getting up out of bed. He tip toes carefully over his sleeping cousins, making his way to where his dads and sister are dead to the world. 

Yev crawls under the blankets on Ian’s side, and the redhead stirs at the weight of his son against his back. He turns slightly, scooping the little boy up with an arm and hoisting him over himself, into the middle where he belongs. Mickey opens one sleepy eye, seeing Yev and smiling softly.

He shifts closer onto his side, pressing Polina against her brother and leaning over her to kiss his hair. Ian pulls up the covers up again, tucking them in around all of them and wrapping his arm back around his little family. Mickey presses his forehead against Ian’s as they drift back to sleep. Throughout the night, each of the kids slowly end up in bed with their parents, either for fear of the storm or shelter from the cold. 

The twins each cuddle up on one side of Kev and V, who are both snoring. Franny curls up on Sai’s chest while Finn makes himself comfortable on Debbie’s soon to be baby bump. Even Liam crawls between Fiona, Iggy, and Rusty, who take him in without question. Outside the storm rages on but down in the basement everyone is safe and warm, surrounded by the people they love most in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I don’t personally believe in spanking as a punishment for children, I just feel that it would be realistic in this universe and environment...I respect all parenting styles as long as boundaries are in place.


	7. The Snow In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family finds themselves snowed into the Gallagher house and must make the best of it until they can be dug out

When morning comes, everyone is awake early, eager to find out what damage the storm has caused. They trickle up the stairs cautiously one by one, horrified when they discover that there’ll be no leaving anytime soon. The snow is piled up past the downstairs windows, completely blocking all the exits. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” Iggy hollers “this is so fuckin bad for business man! What the fuck am I gonna do?!”

Since Fiona had forced him to quit hustling, Iggy had been in need of a new job. Kev and V had offered to let him bartend for them, also needing the help in Svetlana’s recent absence, but the sly Milkovich had taken one look at the now empty apartment upstairs and gotten an idea of his own. 

The three of them were now in the process of opening a fully legal dispensary above the Alibi, planning to get Lana in on it when she returned home. Everyone was helping out however they could, proud to spread the word and be part of the new family business. 

“It’ll be fine” V assures him “half our customers are probably snowed in too” “do you think the bar is snowed in?!” Kev asks, and they all nod solemnly. “Fuck the bar!” Carl cries as he hugs Roxy close “what are we gonna do for food!?” Mickey grins smugly at that, bouncing Polly on his hip as he teases them all “I was prepared bitches, good luck starving” 

“You’d really keep food away from your pregnant sister?” Lip bites back, putting the arm that isn’t holding Damien around Mandy, who snorts “Oh don’t worry about me, I’ll rip his head off and take it from him” “Me too” Debbie agrees, laughing “these cravings are already no joke” Mickey rolls his eyes, muttering “Was just kidding, Jesus” and leaning into Ian’s side for protection, who grins and kisses his cheek. 

“There’s plenty of food in the house” Fiona assures them all “thank god I just went shopping” “I’m gonna call the city and find out when we can get dug out” Sai says, going into the living room as he calls over his shoulder “you guys should check the power and figure out whose sleeping where” Fiona nods and goes to flip on the kitchen light, all of them sighing in relief that it works without issue. 

“we could put all the kids in Liam’s room?” Ian suggests, drawing a cry of triumph from all the little ones as they bounce around and holler “sleep over sleep over!” “Rox and me can sleep in there too” Carl suggests “we don’t take up much space” “everyone that’s got a baby should get a bed” V says “Kev and I can take the couch” 

“we’ll stay in the basement” Debbie says, and Sai nods in agreement as he renters the room, informing them all “it’s gonna be at least a couple days, nobody gives a shit about the southside” “fuck!” everyone groans, already feelings cramped and irritated. “I wish my shovels were in here!” Iggy complains angrily “then we could dig our way out, they’re out in the fuckin shed god damnit!” 

They all descend the basement steps again to gather their things and spread out as much as possible. In the end, everyone ends up where they volunteered to be, Debbie and Sai taking the basement and Kev and V taking the living room. Ian, Mickey, and Polly get the middle bedroom, Mandy, Lip, and Damien taking Debbie’s old one, while Fiona and Iggy stay in their own space. 

“Lotta memories in here” Mickey says, plopping Polly down on the bed and dropping the bags he was carrying. Ian nods, dumping the air mattress and blankets in the corner. “wish we could make some more” he says tossing their pillows at the little girl, who laughs and falls over on the sheets before she throws one back “but this little punk ain’t gonna let that happen!” He climbs onto the bed after her then, tickling her belly and biting her neck until she shrieks. “We’ll see” Mickey chuckles, winking at his husband who winks back. 

When they’re finished setting up, the three of them head next door to check on Yevgeny, Mickey swinging Polina up over his head and giving her a raspberry on her tummy, making her squawk and wiggle as they go. “You gonna be ok in here bud?” he asks, stepping into the small bedroom and looking around as his son nods. Carl’s claimed the bed in the far right corner for Roxy and himself, and the twins are sharing the top bunk while Franny and Finn get the bottom. Yev and Liam are sharing the bed by the window, Geico set up on the nightstand beside them. 

“This used to be my old bed” Ian tells Yev, hugging him around the waist and picking him up from behind as he sits down on the edge of it with the seven year old in his lap. “Yes it did” Mickey says with a smirk, memories flooding back to them both once more and making Ian smirk back and wiggle his eyebrows, realizing that Mickey must really be after it. 

“You know where to come find us if you need us right?” Ian asks Yev, The little boy nods again, leaning into Ian who kisses his cheek. “Tell Geico there’s room for him too if he gets spooked” Mickey jokes, sitting down beside them with the toddler on his lap and reaching out to tickle Yev’s armpit, making him squirm and laugh. 

Polina eyes the lizard cage, at face level with her for once, and looks at her brother pleadingly “I hold?” she asks, and Yev nods, going to get him out. “Gentle” he reminds her, and Polina nods back, letting him place the little guy in her hand. “Pwetty lizzy” she says, stroking him with two fingers as she sees Yevgeny doing . “Good job Pollybird!” Ian praises, and Mickey nods in agreement, telling her “atta girl, nice and gentle” as he hugs her around the belly. All of them are proud of her ability to be soft and listen, as it never seems to be lasting. 

She proves this a few hours later, when the older kids are all upstairs playing and the adults are spread out across the living room and kitchen. Damien and Polina are playing next to the TV, Ian sitting on the floor beside them, when the little girl gets a mischievous look on her face. “Watch” she tells her cousin as she leans over to the nearest open light socket with her finger out. “No no!” Ian says, taking her finger and gently bringing it down to her side. “We gotta have this talk again Polina Marie?” He asks sternly “How many times has daddy told you not to touch the sockets?”

“Bout a million” Mickey says from his nearby spot on the couch, taking a swig of his beer. This is an ongoing issue at home. Since Polina became mobile, she’s always trying to put her little fingers somewhere they don’t belong, especially in small holes like these ones. It was to the point that Ian had put plastic covers in all the electrical sockets in their house, but here, they’re free range, and shes feeling extra feisty. 

Polly looks around, eyeing her Uncle Iggy on the loveseat with Roxy, and Uncle Kev and Aunt Mandy on the couch next to her Papa. She looks between her Daddy and Damien then, weighing her options. Not one to be proved wrong, she goes to do it again, and Ian grabs her finger once more. “Did you hear what I said, young lady?!” He asks, bringing it down again, a little more firmly this time “you will get zapped if you keep doing that! Stop it right now! 

The two year old looks right at him, setting her jaw stubbornly as she raises her finger for a third time. Ian sets his jaw right back, “I’m gonna count to three and you better put that hand down ” he warns “1....2....3” Polina just glares on, not backing down in the slightest as she inches her finger closer, and Ian knows he has no choice. 

He grabs her wrist and smacks her on the hand, making her recoil as she looks at him in horror. Neither one of her fathers has ever struck her before, though they’ve both been well aware, thanks to her crazy ways, that it was going to happen much earlier with her than it had with Yevgeny. 

Polina bursts into tears, screaming “YOU MEAN!” And running for Mickey, but for the first time in her life, he doesn’t pick her up. “Nuh uh” he says, crossing his arms as he nods to his husband with his head “don’t come runnin to me, you go make up with Daddy first” 

The little girl throws herself down in a full blown tantrum then, kicking and pounding her fists, filled with despair at the absolute injustice and drawing everyone who wasn’t already in the room in with her screams. “Does she do this a lot?” Kev asks Mickey, and the Milkovich man rolls his eyes and nods “yeah she’s a tantrum queen, nothing like Yevy was. We learned real quick that there’s no reasonin with her when she’s in the heat of it, so we just wait her out, she’ll calm down in a minute” 

Ian scoots closer on his knees, waiting as Mickey described until she winds down into actual crying. “Are you done Pol?” He asks, rubbing her back, and Polina whines, sitting up and letting him scoop her up in his arms. Ian hugs her close and kisses her repeatedly, carrying her over to the couch to sit beside Mickey as she continues to sob fitfully. 

“Daddy’s sorry, princess” Ian tells her calmly “but I can’t let you do something dangerous like that, even if it means giving you a little hurt to keep you away from a big one. There are fire in those little holes Polina, do you understand? They’ll burn you baby, we just want to keep you safe” The little girl pouts up at him and nods, raising her swatted hand with a faked limp wrist, and melting him on the spot. 

Ian takes it in his own, kissing it again and again before he presses it to his cheek. “Oh my little parrot” he coos, feeling guilty at how pitiful she’s acting, even though he knows that it was the right thing, and she isn’t the least bit hurt. “I love you so much, sweet girl. You can go see Papa now if you want too” Mickey opens his arms wide, letting her know that he’ll gladly take her, but the child throws her own little arms around Ian’s neck, whispering a snot filled “luh you daddy” into it, and warming both their hearts as she settles in there for a nap. 

Mickey grins, loving the sight of his redheads together as he wraps himself around both of them instead, kissing his love on the hair when Ian rests his head on his shoulder and cuddles into him. “Told you they were good dads” Fiona whispers to Lip, who nods, never truly having doubted it, no matter how much he likes to tease. 

Polina stays in Ian’s lap all the way through dinner, letting Mickey feed her cut up bits of meat and vegetables from his plate as everyone piles around the small table to eat. “Eat your broccoli little man” he tells Yev, who rolls his eyes, knowing there’s too many people around for him to try and feed it to Rusty. “You too” V tell the twins, and they scowl at him for suggesting it. “Sorry girls” Mickey says, smirking and turning to Ian to mutter “damn, mean dads, mean uncles, were just battin a thousand with the kids today aren’t we?” 

“Welcome to parenthood” Fiona says, making everyone laugh before she adds “you didn’t like me most the time either”. “Still don’t” Carl teases and she throws a piece of broccoli at him, landing it in Liam’s plate “does this mean I have to eat it?” He asks and Fiona laughs, leaning over to kiss his cheek and telling him “yeah it was my evil plan all along” 

“You think Frank froze to death out there in the blizzard?” Debbie asks, making them all roll their eyes. “We’re not that lucky” Ian assures her, passing the salt to Franny who is reaching for it “Frank’s a cockroach, if there was another Cold War, he’d find a way to survive it” “yeah” Kev agrees, taking a bite of his meat “he’s probably hibernatin’ somewhere, he’ll come out again when the snow melts to fuck some more shit up” “least he’s free” Iggy mutters under his breath, making Fiona lean over and kiss his cheek too. 

After dinner, Ian, Mickey, Lip and Mandy take Polina and Damien upstairs to give them a bath, taking Roxy too so Carl can have a break. “I’m on drying duty” Mandy announces, grabbing a stack of towels and plopping herself down on the closed toilet lid, as she’s far too pregnant to kneel. “Fair enough” Mickey agrees, starting the rickety old Gallagher bathtub “thank fuck the pipes aren’t frozen” he says as Ian and Lip get the kids undressed and start plopping them into the rising water. 

The three youngest Gallaghers have a wild time, Polina and Damien playing while Roxy splashes along with them, having no idea what’s going on. The three dads do their best to get them clean amidst their ocean adventure, tricking them into rinsing their hair by being underwater explorers or “MERMAIDS! MERMAIDS!” As Polina shrieks. When they’re all clean, Lip pulls the plug, scooping Roxy out first and handing her to Mandy for drying before Carl comes to retrieve her and takes her into the bedroom to get dressed. 

“Shake your booty, dry it off!” Ian tells Polly, laughing when she stands up and makes a show out of doing so, wiggling around and swinging her wet hair “do the nakey dance! shake it shake it!” He chants, clapping and making the others laugh too. “You’re gonna regret tellin her that someday” Lip says with a chuckle, and Mickey scowls at him. 

“Shut your filthy whore mouth!” He tells his brother in law, scooping his daughter up out of the tub and wrapping her in the towel that Mandy passes him. He sits her in his lap, kissing her cheek as he says “Shes gonna be our little princess forever, isn’t that right Polly Pocket?” 

“WHORE!” Damien yells, making them all cringe and laugh. “Don’t listen to your uncle Mick, buddy” Ian tells him, smirking as he lifts him out and hands him to his mother, who hugs him close in a towel and kisses his head “he’s got a potty mouth” “Potty!” Polina chirps, jumping up suddenly and bouncing around “potty! potty! I go!” 

“Yeah baby!” Mickey tells her excitedly, patting her little bottom as he encourages “You got this! go bird go!” Mandy quickly gets off the toilet with Damien sitting on her bump, opening the lid so her niece can get on it. Polina almost falls off trying to balance herself, but Ian is right there to hold her hand. 

“You’re doing it Parrot! Look at you goin potty like a big girl!” he tells her enthusiastically as she pees in a real toilet for the first time without being prompted “Good job tellin us squirt!” Mickey says “just like a grown up! were so proud of you sweet girl!” as he crawls over to kneel beside them, taking her other hand so he can kiss the back of it.

He shares an emotional look with Ian, who smiles softly, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “You’re next, little man” Lip tells Damien in the doorway, who scowls and rests his head on his mother’s shoulder. Both his parents laugh, congratulating their niece as her fathers clean her up. 

The two little beasts are then set free to streak through the house for a few minutes before they have to be captured and dressed for bed, all the children being collected and tucked in as a team effort. Ian reads a story to the whole lot of them like he does every night to Yevgeny (and sometimes Polina, when she decides to sit still and listen). After that all the adults find their way to bed early too, exhausted from a full day of family, loud, cramped, and lovingly in your face as always.


	8. When The Cold Wind Blows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey share a quietly intimate moment in the Gallagher bathroom

In the middle of the night, Mickey’s bladder rouses him, and he gets up and heads across the hall to the bathroom, Ian feeling the dip in the bed and stirring. He watches Mickey leave the room and grins sleepily after him, an idea crossing his mind as he carefully climbs over their sleeping daughter and follows. 

He finds his husband washing his hands, and shuts the door behind himself. Leaning against it, he whispers “hey” and Mickey turns slightly, a small smile playing across his lips as he whispers “hey” back. Ian crosses the space between them silently and presses himself gently into Mick’s back, leaning his forehead against the back of his neck as he wraps his arms around him. His lover softens right into his touch, leaning into the kiss Ian places on the first knob of his spine and whispering “long day?” 

“Mm” Ian nods, smoothing his hands down Mickey’s stomach and thighs, murmuring“Gonna be some long days” The Milkovich man turns in his arms then, Ian’s hands sliding down over his butt as they kiss long and slow. It’s Mickey who breaks it first, eyes soft as he leans their foreheads together. “Take my mind off it?” He whispers, as his hand rubs down Ian’s chest and over the hardening bulge in the front of his sweats. His husband smirks, humming, “mhm” and slipping his hands down the back of Mickey’s boxers. Ian gives him a squeeze and Mickey bites gently into his collar bone in response. 

The redhead kisses him below the ear, working his way down his neck. Mickey runs a hand through his fiery hair, and drops to his knees before him, turning Ian around against the sink as he pulls his sweats down around his knees. “Gonna have a lotta babysitters around, we should take advantage of that” Ian says “hm, yeah” Mickey says with a smirk, taking his husbands cock in his hand and licking up the underside. Ian hisses in pleasure, smoothing a hand down the back of Mickey’s head as he dips it to take up the length of him and begins to bob. 

Mickey gazes up at the man he loves through his eyelashes, lips curling into a smirk around his cock as he continues to thrust his mouth up and down on him. The redhead’s eyes are clenched shut, and his lover knows him well enough to know that he’s trying with all his might not to lose it too soon. Mickey has mercy on him, pulling off with a suctioned pop and letting Ian drag him up to connect their lips once more. 

The taller man bites into Mickey’s bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth possessively. He grips his lover’s jaw in his hands then, sucking at his pulse point and giving the Milkovich in question his turn to hiss, the sound tapering off into a soft moan. Mickey rubs his cheek against Ian’s temple as he turns them around again and bends over the sink, pressing back into his husband who doesn’t waste a second pulling down his boxers and kneading his cheeks in both hands. 

Ian slips a finger into him, beginning to gently thrust it as he starts to kneel but Mickey grunts softly and shakes his head once, letting him know that he doesn’t want or need it. Ian smirks as he wraps his arms tight around him, pressing forward with his cock and entering his body with a gentle slide of his hips. Mickey gasps through his bitten lip, grabbing Ian’s hands tightly in his own against the sink counter as he begins to move. 

Slowly they rock together, building a steady rhythm that gains momentum as they go at it. Ian snapping his hips into Mickey as the dark haired arches his own upward, leaning further over the sink so that his lover can reach that sweet spot inside of him again and again. As they near their peak, Ian buries his face in Mickey’s neck to muffle his groans, biting and kissing him there in time with their thrusts. 

The Milkovich man brings his husband’s hand up to cover his own mouth, and Ian complies easily, tighten it there and slipping two fingers between his lips as he grabs Mickey’s dick with the other hand. He pumps him through his climax, angling the cum shot it into the sink and unloading inside him a second later. Their bodies stiffen and then relax together, slumping against the edge of the counter. Ian turns Mickey around and kisses him deeply, pulling back for a few sweet pecks and pressing his face against his throat. 

Mickey sighs in contentment, chuckling under his breath as he rubs Ian’s back and kisses his shoulder, resting his lips against it. “That was fuckin good” he mutters “missed ya” and Ian chuckles back, telling him “I’ve been right here, baby” “you know what I mean” Mickey says, and the redhead nods, kissing him once more and whispering “love you” 

“Love ya too” Mickey says “We better get back before the boss wakes up and comes lookin for us” he grabs some toilet paper, wiping off Ian’s dick and pulling his sweats up over his package as he adds “love to see you talk your way outta that one” “Why me?!” Ian asks, grabbing some more and wiping his ass clean for him “you’re in here too!” and Mickey shrugs, laughing as Ian pinches his backside and pulls his boxers up over the swell of it, giving it a pat. 

The couple finish cleaning up and go back into the bedroom to find that their daughter has kicked off the blankets, and her pajama bottoms, leaving her shivering violently in nothing but a diaper and a thin shirt. This isn’t uncommon, as Polina is a naturally hot sleeper, her dads have gotten used to waking up and finding her backwards on the bed without some garment of clothes they had put her down in. Her legs sprawled out wide with her little feet shoved in their faces, which they truthfully like better than having them shoved into their ribs and backs. 

However in this type of cold, with frost and snow covering the window nearby, it isn’t safe for her to not be bundled up while she sleeps. “Jesus Christ!” Mickey hisses, rushing over and feeling her face as he tells Ian “she’s fuckin cold as ice!” “Here” Ian says, jumping into action. He grabs their sleeping bag and extra blankets from downstairs, unzipping and flattening them all out on the bed on top of the sheets and comforter. 

Ian takes off his shirt and motions for Mickey to do the same, his husband quickly understanding and doing so. He sits the toddler up carefully, Ian helping him get her shirt off gently without waking her up. Both of them sigh in relief when it goes smoothly, and they’re able to lay her back down, thanking the universe once again that she sleeps like her mother and brother. 

They climb back into bed on either side of her, taking the same spots they went to bed in, with Ian by the wall and Mickey on the door side. The worried dads press the shivering child between their bare chests, pulling all the covers up over the three of them and resting their warm cheeks against her cold ones. “Her poor little fingers are frozen” Ian whispers, cupping her tiny hand in his own and blowing his hot breath on it. Mickey does the same on the other side, muttering “crazy little shit” and making Ian laugh quietly. 

Slowly Polly’s little body begins to warm up, the shivering slowing into peaceful slumber as her warmed hands curl around each of theirs, and they smile at each over her head. “It’s just like when she was born remember?” Ian sighs “skin to skin, I miss those days” and Mickey nods “Me too, I can’t believe she went potty like a big girl today” he whispers, smiling sadly. Ian returns the look, leaning over her slightly to give his love a kiss as he assures him “she’ll always be our baby, Mick, no matter how big she gets” 

Their attention is drawn to the makeshift door then as it pushes open and Yevgeny appears, closing it behind him again. “Speaking of our baby” Ian says, both of them grinning as Yev comes over to Mickey’s side. “C’mere tough guy” his Papa tells him, reaching out to scoop him up and tucking him in between Polina and himself. The former thug kisses the back of his son’s neck and puts his arm over him, making room on the pillow for his little head. 

Yev snuggles down under the blankets and gets comfortable, leaning into his daddy’s hand when Ian reaches over and strokes his cheek. “Did you get scared bug?” He asks, pushing his hair back, but the seven year old shakes his head, admitting quietly “no, Uncle Carl snores a lot” 

Both Ian and Mickey snicker at this, the older Milkovich telling the younger one “your daddy snores too” “I don’t!” Ian gasps indignantly “you do!” “You both do” Yev tells them honestly “but not like Uncle Carl, he’s loud” they all giggle then, the gentle sound fading out as they each settle back into sleep.


	9. Delilah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the medics in the family, an emergency situation has a happy ending

The next few days go by so slowly, everyone doing their best not to kill each other. The kids are stir crazy and the adults are tired from wrangling them, everyone on edge from being shoved into the small space against their will. Fiona and V are in the kitchen, cooking and trying to get some laundry done. Mandy is upstairs resting, needing a break from her rambunctious two year old. Damien is currently sitting on the living room floor between his dad’s legs, playing a game on Lip’s phone. 

Yevgeny and the rest of the kids are down in the basement with Iggy, playing GTA on a shitty little portable tv that he stole shortly before Fiona made him go straight. Kev and Sai have joined them, having nothing else to do, which leaves Debbie in the living room watching TV. Ian is standing at the base of the stairs with Polina on his hip, Mickey beside them as the older redhead tells Carl (and Roxy in his arms) how sleep training works.

“It’s a yuppie thing” he explains “You let em cry it out so they learn to self soothe. Lana wanted to do it with Polly but Mick wasn’t having it and honestly neither was I. Even now we still rock her to sleep and lay her down in the crib for those first few hours, but as soon as she wakes up, we bring her right to bed with us. We all sleep better like that anyway. With her and Yev both, if they wanna be held, we hold em. If they wanna sleep with us, they do, end of story. We figure they’re only little for so long, might as well love em up while you can” 

“Yeah” the younger Gallagher agrees “you don’t have to get up that way either, you can just feed em and change em and go back to sleep” Carl’s attention is caught by Mickey then, gazing up the stairs with a glassy look in his eyes that’s all too familiar. “Mick?” He says, and his brother in law doesn’t answer. “Baby?” Ian asks, putting an arm around him “you ok?” 

Lip and Debbie turn to them, holding their breath for a response. The Milkovich man stares a moment longer before he snaps out of it and nods. “Fine” he mutters, leaning into his husbands side as Ian strokes a hand down the back of his head and kisses his hairline. “Let’s go lay down for a little bit huh?” the taller man suggests “think we could all use a nap” 

Mickey nods once more, staying under his arm as they turn to go. “I can take Polly if you want” Debbie offers “let you guys get some real sleep” Ian hesitates, but nods, handing his daughter over the back of the couch and telling her “ok princess be good for auntie debs” The little girl goes to her aunt easily, giggling as Debbie hugs her close and kisses her cheek.

“Cmon tough guy” he says softly, leading Mickey up the stairs to their room. The minute he sits him down on the bed, the ex con begins to hyperventilate, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. Ian tightens his arms around him and smoothes a hand over his heart, soothing “Ssshh hey hey, it’s ok” 

He kisses Mickey’s temple, pressing his lips there before resting his forehead against his own. “Breathe for me love” he soothes, stroking his cheek, and Mickey gasps deeply, climbing into his lap. Ian hugs him close and lays back with Mickey’s head on his chest, the dark haired man’s ear over his heart. 

They keep breathing together rhythmically until Mickey’s own heart stops racing, Ian smoothing a hand up under his shirt and tracing patterns into his bare back to help keep him calm. “It was Sammi” Mickey whispers, startling Ian who hugs him tighter to his chest and asks “what you remembered?” 

Mickey nods “I was standing in that spot right before the MPs took you away, could hear her fuckin voice in my head...” Ian softens, kissing his hair and murmuring “aw my baby” as Mickey goes on “I’m all tensed up, can’t shake it, got cabin fever like a motherfucker” 

“I know how hard it is for you to be inside this long, honey” Ian tells him “Fresh air always does you good, and with this many people crammed in? I won’t lie, I’m having a little anxiety too” “really?” Mickey asks and Ian nods. “What can I do to help?” He asks, wiping at his wet eyes “you wanna do it?” but Mickey frowns and shakes his head “Fuckin wish” he mutters “sorry, my stomach is churnin like a son of a bitch” 

“No need to be sorry babe” Ian tells him softly “you want me to rub it for you?” Mickey nods, rolling off of Ian and getting comfortable on his side so the redhead can cuddle up to his back. Ian wraps his arm over Mickey then and begins gently rubbing his tummy. 

“Let’s try and get some sleep like Debbie said hm?” He whispers “Who knows how long it’s gonna be before we get that chance again” Mickey chuckles and nods, closing his weary eyes and settling back into the man he loves, who kisses his cheek and buries his in face in his neck, letting out a sigh of contentment. 

Next thing he knows, Mickey wakes up to a groan, he looks back to find Ian still fast asleep, and is immediately suspicious. He untangles them gently, getting up and crossing out of the small bedroom and into the hallway. Another groan breaks lose from behind the bathroom door and Mickey pushes it open without thinking about it, finding a sight that stops his heart. 

His sister is seated on the toilet clutching her baby bump, moaning low in her throat. “Mandy!?” He asks in alarm kneeling before her “the fucks going on?!” Mandy groans again, unable to answer him yet as she drops her head between her knees “baby” she finally rasps “Get Lip...” suddenly a cry breaks loose from between her lips and she grabs his hand as hard as she can, squeezing it with all her might and making him hiss in pain with her as she screams “AAAHHH FUCKING SHIT!” 

“IAN!” Mickey hollers over his shoulder “LIP! SOMEBODY GET THE FUCK IN HERE NOW!” Ian makes it in first, scrambling across the hall and into the bathroom “what!?” He cries, taking In the scene and going into right into EMT mode. “How far apart are they Mands? Did your water break?” 

“No” she says, huffing a breath before she gasps and cries “fuck! yes!” The evidence audible as it hits the toilet bowl in a rush. Lip comes skittering in behind him, nearly slipping on the linoleum to get to her. Mandy looks up at his arrival, resolve breaking and tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as he falls to his knees at her side and grasps her hand, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and assuring her “it’s gonna be ok babe I’m right here” 

“What’s wrong!?” A voice comes from the doorway, Fiona appearing with Iggy and V behind her “she’s in labor” Ian tells them “her water broke, contractions are...” he pulls out and looks at his phone, waiting for her to go into another one “3 minutes apart, this baby is coming now” 

“No!” Mandy wails “I need a hospital! I need fucking drugs!” and Ian squeezes her knee “it’s gonna be ok” he assures her “I’ve delivered plenty of babies, so has V” “she delivered Franny on the kitchen table” Fiona reminds them, and V nods, going to wash her hands. “I’m calling 911” Iggy announces, hurrying downstairs as he calls over his shoulder “this is a damn good reason to dig us out!” 

“Where’s Damien?!” Mandy rasps, staring to hyperventilate and cutting herself off as another contraction hits her hard “where’s my baby?! where’s my - aaahhh!” She bares down on Mickey and Lip’s hands with all her strength. “He’s downstairs playing with Polly” Fiona tells her. 

“I’ll go keep an eye on em” Mickey says, moving to get up, but Mandy digs her nails viciously into his hand until he cries out in pain “don’t you dare fucking move!” She screeches “you jinxed me, fuckhead! Your ass is staying right here!” Mickey’s eyebrows touch his hairline, but he sinks down again and stays quiet, not willing to argue with her in fear of being murdered. 

Ian gets up to wash his hands next as Debbie appears in the doorway beside Fiona. “The guys have all the kids downstairs” she explains “Iggy’s giving the EMS hell, they should be coming soon” she beams at Mandy and coos “I’m staying up here to meet my niece!” 

“Will somebody get my EMT bag and some towels?” Ian asks, and Fiona nods, going to fetch what he needs. Mandy huffs deeply, groaning in pain. “Let’s check your dilation sweetie” V says, spreading her knees as Lip takes her pajama bottoms and panties the rest of the way off. Her eyes widen as she checks her cervix and looks up at Ian, telling him “she’s already at 8!” 

“We better move her to the tub” Ian says, and Lip nods, bracing a hand on his girlfriend’s lower back. He grasps her under the thigh, Mickey doing the same on the other side so they can lift her between them and carry her to the bathtub, setting her down gently. Lip gets in behind her, smoothing her hair back from her forehead and kissing it before he intertwines their fingers so she’s got something to squeeze. Mickey kneels by their heads with Debbie behind him, wetting a rag from the sink and passing it to him so he can press it to her forehead. 

Fiona appears with the bag then, kneeling beside V as Ian goes into it and quickly locates his gloves, slapping them on and passing V his extra pair. “I’m gonna look ok Mands?” He asks, leaning over the side of the tub and she nods, beginning to whine through another one and squeezing Lips hands. Ian spreads her leg aside for V to grab and hold back, assessing the damage. 

The littlest Gallagher is indeed on her way, from the time it’s taken to move Mandy to the tub, she’s gone from 8 to 9 centimeters and is pushing 10. The baby’s head is crowning and causing her mother more pain by the second, especially without any drugs to numb her. “GET HER OUT!” Mandy screams, writhing in agony as her contractions grow stronger “GET HER OUT NOW!” 

“Time to push!” V says, looking over her leg and Mandy doesn’t waste a second, squeezing Lip’s hand and baring down with all her might as they begin to labor breathe together. “You hear that?” He asks, kissing her temple between pants “you got this love, she’s almost here, we’re gonna do it together” 

“You’re doing great Mands” Mickey encourages, Debbie and Fiona echoing him as he blots at her forehead with the rag. Never in a million years did the ex thug think he’d be the one doing this, and he refuses to look down at what’s happening, but it secretly warms his heart to be helping his sister deliver his little niece. 

“Ughhhh!” Mandy growls, fighting her way through a particularly hard push, and Ian grins “she’s right there Mandy I can see her eyes, two more and she’s gonna be out!” A determination washes over Mandy then, she presses her toes against the side of the bathtub, spreading her legs wider and heaving with her all her might.

“AAAHHHHH” she screams, only breaking for a short gasp of breath before she wails again and the infants head and shoulders come slipping out into Ian’s hands. “Oh my goodness! Look at you!” He cries as he lifts her up gently, looking into the screaming face of his newest niece “hi pretty girl, I’m your uncle Ian” 

“She’s beautiful!” V gushes, passing Ian the supplies to clear her airway and clamp the cord, which he does quickly before wrapping her in a towel and laying her down on Mandy’s chest. The new mother wraps her arms around the baby immediately, Lip adding his around them both as they cry together, along with everybody else in the room. “Delilah” Mandy pants, kissing her tiny nose as she presses their foreheads together “Delilah my sweet girl, Mommy’s so glad you’re safe” 

“Hi honey, I’m your daddy” Lip cries, leaning over to kiss her forehead, and no one in the room can argue with that fact. Where Damien got most of Mandy’s features, Delilah Marie Gallagher is the spitting image of her father. From his big green eyes to his dirty blonde hair (though it’s wavy like Mandy’s instead of curly) she’s all Lip. “You wanna cut the cord?” V asks the new father and he nods, reaching down to do so before Mandy groans in pain again.

“Placentas coming” she hisses, handing the baby to Mickey “I can feel it” and her brother, still traumatized from Polina’s birth, clutches his new niece and takes that as his chance to flee. “I’ll take her in the bedroom and get her bundled up” he offers, cooing “cmon peanut, Uncle Mick’s got ya, I bet Roxy’s got some clothes you can borrow” as Debbie follows him, cooing at the baby over his shoulder. “I’ll go tell everyone!” Fiona says excitedly, hurrying downstairs to do just that as Lip, Ian and V settle in to help her deliver the afterbirth. 

By the time the cops and paramedics dig the front door clear, mother and baby are both cleaned up and ready to go, sitting downstairs on the couch as Mandy nurses the little girl. Everyone’s gotten the change to meet and hold her, besides Damien, who isn’t sure that he wants to yet, and looks on suspiciously from Lip’s lap beside them. “Baby?” He asks and Lip hugs him and nods proudly “that’s right Damey, your baby sister, ‘Lilah” 

“You did that” Mickey tells Ian from where they’re seated on the bottom step together, Polina playing with Yev at their feet. “You helped” Ian reminds him, and he rolls his eyes, muttering “wasn’t given much damn choice” 

As soon as Mandy’s safely in the ambulance with Lip and the baby (the EMT’s all greeting Ian and complimenting his handiwork) everyone is trampling over each other to get out into the fresh air, groaning at its glory, The kids pounce into the snow like animals who’ve been caged for years, Franny and Finn beginning to laugh and kick it at each other. 

The twins each drag Kev down by a leg, V bursting into laughter and getting a handful of snow to shove down his pants. Liam jumps on Iggy’s back as Polina and Damien (who is being kept by his godfathers for the night) dog pile Yevgeny. The seven year throws a snowball at Ian on his way to the ground, and when the redhead chucks one at Mickey and catches him in the back of the neck, the fight is on.

“C’mere tough guy!” He hollers, chasing after his husband who laughs maniacally as he flees. They pass Debbie who is screaming and running from Fiona, she gets caught by Sai who dumps a handful of the soft powder on her head and high fives his sister in law. Carl sits on the porch with Roxy, laughing at them all and pointing. The battle rages until everyone exhausts themselves, huffing cheerful goodbyes as they go inside to pack up their things and head off to inspect the damage of their own potentially snow covered homes.


	10. The Dirtiest White Boy Gets Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey snag a little bit of alone time that is anything but romantic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: Gross things ahead! This is one of those chapters that might be a little much for some people. I went back and forth a lot when writing it but ultimately decided to do it because as usual I wanted to explore the realities of marriage and family life that are less than picture perfect, and the comfort level developed between the two characters after being together for so many years. I hope you will enjoy it, but if it’s not your thing, that’s cool too!

As the days pass and the snow finally begins to melt, Yevgeny slowly starts to adjust. He gradually goes back to starting the nights in his own bed, crawling between his fathers after a few hours instead of right off the bat. On the subject of bats, his dads have also enrolled him in baseball for the spring, another idea of Dahlia’s to get his mind off his mom being gone. 

Everyone else is doing the best they can to carry on as normal. Ian is immersing himself in his work, Polina is being feisty as ever and Mickey is doing his best to manage the little beast. The greatest victim of her loss after Yev it seems, is the Milkovich house itself. 

Without Svetlana around to help clean up, the place is quickly becoming a pig sty again. Ian, who is without a doubt the neater of the two remaining adults, let’s it go for a while, trying to pick up the slack on his own. He can tell that his husband is a having a little trouble adjusting too (whether he’ll admit it or not) and has his hands full enough with their hot mess of a daughter, but when he comes home one afternoon and steps in a wet diaper that’s laying open in the entryway, Ian’s had enough. 

“MICKEY!” he hollers, picking it up as the ex con comes stalking out of the kids bedroom “keep your voice down would ya Firecrotch?!” He hisses “I just got her down for a nap!” Ian holds up the diaper in his fist, giving his husband a heated look. “there’s a trash can right there” he says, pointing to the kitchen “think you can throw these away instead of leaving em on the ground?” 

“I just forgot” Mickey says, rolling his eyes and snatching the diaper from Ian’s hand. His husband scowls, following him across the living room and into the kitchen where he slams it in the trash “like you “forgot” about the dishes?!” Ian barks “and the laundry and the floors!? This is place is turning into a shithole again Mick! There’s dry milk and crusty food everywhere! I can’t walk without stepping on a toy or a book, or a fucking piss diaper! Tomorrow it’ll probably be shit!” 

Mickey’s eyebrows touch his hairline “hows that my fuckin fault?!” He snaps “you think just cause I’m at home with the kids I gotta be the one that cooks and cleans all the damn time?! This ain’t the housewives of fuckin Chicago, Gallagher! I ain’t a housewife and I sure as fuck ain’t your maid!”

Ian softens a little, reaching out to cup Mickey’s face “hey, I didn’t mean it like that ok? Your job is just as hard as mine, but I’m not a maid either, and it’d be nice not to walk in the door and step in piss. I need your help, is what I’m saying babe. It’s just the two of us now, without Lana on our asses, we’re gonna have to work together to keep this place up, if not for us than for the kids, they deserve to have a clean house to grow up in don’t they? We never had that”

Mickey’s eyebrows relax at this, and he nods as Ian comes forward to kiss him between them, leaning into his husband who leans back against the kitchen wall. Mickey presses their cheeks together, rubbing along the shoulders of Ian’s jacket as the redhead sighs into his neck. They rest in comfortable silence for a moment before Mickey grins wickedly and purs into his lover’s ear “Am I still in trouble?” 

Ian raises his head to look at him “you wanna be in trouble?” He asks, and Mickey nods, biting his lip. Ian smirks before his features go stern once more. “Then get your ass in that bathroom, mister” he orders “don’t make me wait” and Mickey smirks at that, scampering off to do as he’s told. He grabs the baby monitor off the couch on his way, placing it on the back of the toilet when he gets there. 

Ian stalks in after him, going to turn on the shower before he turns back to his lover and grabs him roughly by the hips, biting at his neck. Mickey fights a grin as Ian pulls him back against himself, the shorter man rocking back against the hardening bulge in the front of his pants. The redhead hooks his thumbs into the waist band of his husband’s jeans and drags them down as he purrs into his ear “you’ve been a dirty boy haven’t you Mickey? Is Daddy gonna have to clean you up?” 

“Mhm” the Milkovich man hums, reaching back to run his fingers through his husbands red hair as Ian slips down his body, sliding the shirt up his back in the opposite direction and kissing at his exposing spine as he drops to his knees behind him. “You clear out yet today?” He asks, pulling Mickey’s boxers down around his ankles, and the ex con rolls his eyes, and grumbles “No, didn’t get the chance, your daughter made sure of that” 

Ian grins darkly, palming his cheeks and nipping at his tailbone “looks like I’m gonna have to do it for you” he murmurs. “I can do it myself, tough guy” Mickey informs him, but there’s no bite behind it. “Oh yeah like you do the house?” Ian teases “I don’t think so” he’s prepared to let the subject drop and allow Mickey to do his business as usual, but his mouth falls open in shock when his husband sighs and says “Well you’re gonna need more than water, get a fleet from under the sink” 

“You’re finally gonna let me do it?!” He gasps, getting to his feet and the former thug rolls his eyes way up to the ceiling “yeah Firecrotch, guess it’s your lucky day, don’t know what your freak ass is gettin out of it but whatever, suit yourself” Ian smiles gently, stroking Mickey’s cheek. 

In all the years they had spent together, “clearing out the pipes” as Ian called it, was the one thing Mickey had always insisted on doing for himself. Ian had always been fascinated by how quickly and easily he could get it done, but had respected his boundaries about being hands on in the process. He could look but he wasn’t allowed to touch, until now. 

“it’s not about getting somethin out of it Mick” he admits “I don’t get off on it or anything, just like helpin ya, it’s my job to prep you, might as well do it from beginning to end” The dark haired man can’t help but soften at this, leaning in to peck Ian’s lips and mutter against them “better spank me good after”

His lover smirks against his mouth, reaching down to cup his ass and squeeze it. “I’ll spank you while we wait” he tells him “not gonna waste time” and Mickey chuckles. “Sounds like a plan” he says, getting in the shower. Ian quickly locates the little white and green box just inside the sink cabinet. He empties it’s content into his hand, tossing the package in the trash and nearly tripping over his pants as he strips down and scrambles to gets inside the tub behind his husband. 

“Get on your knees” Mickey tells him, bending over slightly and bracing his hands on either side of the faucet, and the taller man does as he’s told, grabbing the baby soap and using a finger full of it to lube up the enema tip. He spreads Mickey’s cheeks and presses it into him slowly, giving him time to adjust to the intrusion as he softly rubs his lower back. 

“Just shove it!” Mickey snaps “we don’t got all day!” “You sure?” Ian asks, only making him more impatient. “Yes I’m fucking sure! I do this all the damn time, nothing compared to your huge fuckin dick anyway! I can take it, just go!” Ian shrugs, pressing the nozzle the rest of the way in and squeezing the tube of all its content so that it shoots up inside his husband. 

He takes it out then, making Mickey hiss and mutter “10 minutes” “do we have that kinda time?” Ian asks, looking warily out at the baby monitor where it sits on the back of the toilet. “You think I know the answer to that?!” Mickey cries “waste another second and I’m gonna fuckin murder you!” Ian smirks “you’re awfully mouthy for someone whose in trouble” he says, tossing the enema and pulling his impatient lover down towards him by the hips as he murmurs “C’mere” 

Ian presses his arching back down to the tub floor, using his flat palm to swat Mickey across both bare cheeks as he begins to scold “you think daddy likes coming home to a dirty house? it’s time you learned some responsibility, young man” 

The ex con bites his lip, pressing his forehead to the linoleum as he spreads his knees slightly wider in a submissive little plea, and Ian smirks wickedly, beginning to chant “You’re gonna do the dishes *smack* and the windows *smack* and the laundry *smack* and the floors *smack* and take out the damn garbage! *smack smack*” He leans over Mickey’s back, biting into his ear lobe as he growls into it “and when I get home tomorrow, that kitchen counter better be spotless, cause I have every intention of bending you over it and making a mess of you instead. Do I make myself clear?” 

“Yes daddy!” Mickey whimpers, turning his face back to seek out Ian’s lips, which the redhead happily indulges him with, licking into his mouth and sucking greedily at his tongue. He sits back up on his knees then and grabs the body wash from the tubs edge “alright Mikhailo, let’s clean you up” he says, popping the cap. The dark hair man can’t help but giggle as his husband pours the soap all over his backside, putting the bottle back and beginning to rub his soapy cheeks, making tons of bubbles for himself to play with. 

“Naughty naughty naughty!” Ian cries, slapping Mickey’s wet jiggling ass on each word and sending the suds flying in all directions, causing them both to laugh in spite of themselves. Once he’s spanked all the soap away, the redhead rinses him clean, biting his own lip and groaning at the sight of his love laid out before him. Mickey’s alabaster skin glistens under the running water, contrasting so beautifully with Ian’s red handprints splayed across it that the taller man can barely contain himself. 

“So fuckin sexy, my baby, wanna eat you so bad” Ian whines as he kneads Mickey’s cheeks roughly, leaning down to kiss and nip at the skin of his back as he reaches around for his cock, but the former thug shakes his head. “No you fuckin don’t” he mutters as he shifts up to a sitting position in front of the taller man, and Ian softens immediately, rubbing up his back to grasp his shoulder and pull him close as he asks “time?” 

Mickey nods, leaning back to peck his lips before he gets to his feet, Ian pats him on the butt as he exits the shower, chuckling when he receives a trailing middle finger in response. He stands and leans against the wall to wait for him, knowing it won’t be long. 

The redhead hears his husband fart obnoxiously and laughs aloud, wrinkling up his nose at the fact that he isn’t the least bit deterred. That’s what marriage does to you, he supposes, when you love someone this much, even the grossest things don’t phase you, and once you throw kids the mix, there are no holes barred, literally. Ian hears the toilet flush and the sink go on and off and then the feisty Milkovich man is storming back into the shower. 

Mickey doesn’t wait for Ian to prep him, lacking the patience or the time, and knowing that they have very little of the latter. He doesn’t care about the tightness or the stretching burn he knows is coming, he just needs the man he loves inside of him, right fucking now. The ex con charges forward like a bull, shoving his mouth onto Ian’s and climbing up his body to thrust himself down on his cock. His husband doesn’t show an ounce of resistance, catching the weight of him and turning them around so he can shove Mickey against the wall and begin pounding into him unapologetically. 

“Shit! Gallagher!” Mickey huffs between their mouths, clawing at his shoulders as Ian let’s out a low growl and bites savagely into his neck. “Fuck yeah Mick” he purrs back, grabbing his lover’s thighs and hoisting him up higher on his waist, reaching down further with one hand to hold his ass for support as he thrusts sharply into it. Mickey locks his legs around Ian as he does this, moaning “yeah Daddy fuck me!” and pulling his wet body impossibly closer against his own as he claims a freckled shoulder with his teeth and lips, drinking in water and sweat. “I got you love” Ian whispers in his ear, placing a kiss against it “Daddy’s good boy is all clean now” 

They don’t last more than a few minutes, too tired and strung out on life and each other. Mickey’s member is getting plenty of friction where it’s pressed hard between their sliding wet stomachs, and Ian’s been halfway there since his lover bent over before him, so with a final slam of their bodies, the two are bursting together unceremoniously and landing as one against the slippery wall. 

In less than 30 seconds a high pitched screech rings through the bathroom from the baby monitor, and Polina’s holler of “PAPA UP!” is her way of letting them know that she’s awake and demanding their attention. Ian sighs into Mickey’s mouth and eases his legs back down to the floor as he pulls out, his husband whimpering “I just wanna go lay down and hold you” and making Ian melt.

“I know, sweetheart, me too” he coos “I’ll get her, you finish washing up and come out when you’re ready ok tough guy?” Mickey nods, kissing Ian in several tender pecks before the older redhead goes off to fetch the younger one. The Milkovich man smirks softly as he watches him go, turning to embrace the last of the hot water and a few stolen minutes to himself. 

Ian towels off roughly and grabs some clothes on his way out of the bedroom, shuffling into them as he heads down the hall. Polina meets him in her bedroom doorway, having climbed out of her crib and gone in search of Mickey when he wasn’t right there to collect her like he normally is. “Hey you!” Ian says fondly, scooping her up and kissing her face as she snuggles into his shoulder sleepily. 

Her father laughs at the absolute ferocity that is her bedhead, unable to deny that she really did get his hair in all senses. It’s both curly and straight, depending on the day and piece you’re looking at, and grows randomly in every shade of red, from bright orange to dark auburn. Today’s mop top fashion features heavy curls gnarled at the base of her neck, endless fluff around the middle near her ears, and long stringy wisps standing straight out from the crown of her head. She looks like she just stuck her finger in a light socket, and though the irony and chagrin of that thought isn’t lost on Ian, he can’t deny that he’s living for it. 

“You’re looking so beautiful today, Polly Parrot!” He tells her, carrying her back to the master bedroom and as he says “let’s go see if Papa’s out so we can show him!” Ian laughs to himself as he enters the bedroom, finding Mickey pulling his pants on, and telling him “babe, look at her crazy hair!” However he stops short as he catches the tension in husband’s shoulders, and notes the phone cradled between his shoulder and ear. 

“Yeah ok” Mickey barks, turning to face them as he says “got it, we’ll be right there” he hangs up, looking at Ian seriously and telling him “We gotta go pick Yev up, he got into a fight, teacher says he started it”


	11. The First Punch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey arrive at the school to collect Yevgeny after his fight, but the situation is not what they expected

“I’m gonna kick his little ass” Mickey says “he knows better, y’know we always tell him if he’s defendin himself that’s one thing, but he threw the first punch!” 

“He definitely knows better” Ian agrees as he drives “think he’s actin up cause of Lana?” “don’t know” the dark haired man admits from the passenger side “had to be pretty good, he’s never been in a fight before. Guess, it was comin at some point though, he’s got my genes anyway” Ian huffs, trying not to smirk as he reaches across the front seat and squeezes his husband’s hand. 

The worried dads park and hurry onto the campus with Polina in tow, her eyes still sleepy and hair still wild from her nap where she rests her head on Ian’s shoulder. “You’re right, gotta figure out how to tame this damn mane of hers” Mickey complains, ruffling the fluffy ginger mess as they cross the parking lot “Svet was always the one who could do that” 

When they get into the school office, Yevgeny is sitting by himself outside of the principal’s door, curled up in a chair. Mickey storms forward to reprimand him, Ian right there ready to back him up, but the minute they see the look on their son’s face, everything changes. Yev’s eyes are wide, staring off into space as if his mind is somewhere else. 

“What happened kid?” Mickey asks, kneeling before him, but the seven year old doesn’t answer. He melts into his papa’s chest instead, putting his head on his shoulder and turning his face into his neck. Mickey hugs him close and picks him up in his arms, sharing a worried look with Ian before the door opens and the principal invites them all inside. 

“Please have a seat” he says, gesturing to the chairs across from his desk, and the four of them huddle into them, each dad holding a child on their lap. Neither man is unfamiliar with this room, or the principal, Mr. Monroe, as they both spent plenty of time seated before him in their grade school days, Mickey especially. 

“Hello again gentlemen, I remember you both” he says “how’s that brother of yours Mr. Gallagher?” He asks Ian “he a serial killer yet?” “No he’s a dad” Ian tells him “and a good one too, military school straightened him out” “good” he says “I’m surprised, but I’m glad to hear it” “can we get to the point!?” Mickey snaps “what happened?!” and the old man eyes him, not even bothering to get into their past time spent together as he says “Yes, Mr. Milkovich, we can. Yevgeny would you like to tell your parents what happened?” 

The little boy shakes his head, cuddling closer into Mickey’s neck. Mr Monroe sighs, turning to both fathers with a grim look on his face. “Mrs. Andrews says there was no build up to this event, at least not that she saw. The boys were talking in the back of the classroom and next thing she knew Yevgeny had shoved the other child to the ground and was repeatedly punching him in the face. He has a black eye and a fat lip, thankfully his nose isn’t broken or you may have been sued for damages. When she pulled your son off and asked him what the hell happened he refused to answer her, or me when she sent him here” 

Both men get a familiar pang in their chests, knowing how kids, especially boys on the south side, are about telling on each other. You don’t rat, no matter what. “What did he say to you buddy?” Ian asks Yev, and his son shakes his head again and begins to cry, wetting the neck of Mickey’s shirt. 

“You have to tell us, bud” Mickey tells him gently “you’re not a snitch ok? This ain’t the same thing” Ian reaches out and wipes his tears. “You won’t be in trouble if you tell us what happened” he assures him “You wanna say it in Papa’s ear?” “Yeah let me be the snitch” Mickey says “I’ll do it for ya” Yev nods bravely, leaning in to do so, though they can all hear it as he chokes out through his sobs “he said - he said my mom isn’t coming back, and she left me here with my - fag dads cause she doesn’t - love me anymore” 

All three adult’s blood go cold at that, Yevgeny beginning to wail as Mickey hugs him tightly and kisses his hair. “Oh baby” Ian coos “she’s coming back, she loves you more than anything, you know that” he sets Polina down on her feet so he can kneel before his husband and son, leaning into Mickey’s lap to add his arms around the little boy and kiss his forehead. Ian presses his own against it then and asks quietly “do you know that word means bubba?” 

Yev nods, begining to sob harder, and Mr. Monroe passes a box of tissues across the desk. “Thanks” Ian says, gently wiping the child’s face as Mickey tells him “it’s ok little man, you did good tellin us, you don’t gotta protect Daddy ‘n me ok? We can take it” Yev sniffles, as he tells them “he says mean things to me a lot but that was the worst. I didn’t mean to hurt em, I just got so mad, I didn’t even know what was happening” 

“I’m very sorry, Yevgeny” Mr. Monroe says “if I were you I might’ve wanted to punch him too. I’ll make sure he faces consequences for his words and doesn’t bother you anymore, but unfortunately son, you have to face consequences for your actions, I’m suspending you for three days” 

both fathers heads shoot up at that. “Are you fuckin kidding me?!” Mickey snaps, rising to his feet as Ian takes Yev out of his lap, hugging him close to his chest “it’s not his fuckin fault the other kid is an asshole! Little fuckhead provoked my son! Maybe we’ll sue for fuckin damages!” 

“I’m very sorry Mr. Milkovich but you know better than anyone that we have a no tolerance policy for violence at this school” the principal tells him, trying to remain calm “I wish there was more I could do, but that’s just how the system works” “fuck the system!” Mickey cries, flustered with rage as he picks Polly up, the little girl snuggling into him and giving the man her best dirty look. 

“how did this kid even know about his mom leaving anyway?” Ian demands to know, standing up beside his husband. Mr. Monroe sighs, choosing his words carefully as he explains. “Mrs. Andrews seemed to think it would be a good idea to tell the class what was going on, she wanted them to show their support for Yevgeny. I’ve explained to her that it doesn’t always work this way with children” 

“On the south side?!” Mickey hollers “is she fuckin retarded?! Fuck her and fuck you too!” He looks at the poster hanging above the principal’s desk and says “and fuck the Grateful Dead!” He storms out of the office with Polina, Ian following closely, still holding Yev. Mr. Monroe sighs, unfazed as he gets up and goes to adjust his prized poster, muttering “god damn Milkoviches never change” 

As the family moves across the school office, they cross paths with another family coming in the door that they are leaving through. A clearly uppity, unimpressed mother and father, and a snotty looking little boy, holding an ice pack to his bruised face. The woman’s mouth twist in a snarl as she makes eye contact with Ian, gesturing to Yev in his arms. 

“you shouldn’t be coddling him like that after what the little monster did to my son” was she snaps. “Mind your own fucking business” Ian spits back “you have no idea what he’s been through” “with faggots like you for parents I can only imagine” the father sneers. 

“Why don’t you go fuck yourself?” Mickey says back “and tell your little asshole of a kid that if he ever fucks with ours again, his fag dads are gonna beat all your asses”. “Are you threatening my family?” The father asks, stepping forward and Mickey steps right back, a whole two heads shorter and still ten times more intimidating. 

“Threatening?” He mocks “Nah man, just givin you a friendly fuckin warning, I won’t even need to put the toddler down to do it” the man’s face goes blank for a beat and Ian sees his chance. “Let’s go” he murmurs in Mickey’s ear, dragging the ex con out of the office as he knows a fight will break out in front of the kids if he doesn’t. 

“Am I in trouble?” Yevgeny whispers hoarsely on the way to the car, and Ian shakes his head “no kiddo” he tells him, smoothing back his hair “we know you wouldn’t have hit him if he didn’t say that nasty stuff to you. We all lose our temper sometimes, Papa or me would’ve done the same thing” “Papa wanted to hit him again for you” Mickey says “and everyone else too” Ian chuckles in spite of himself, putting his arm around Mickey and kissing him on the cheek. 

Yevgeny falls asleep in the backseat on the way home, Polina babbling beside him in her car seat, leaving the pair of men to their thoughts in the front. “You think this’ll happen again?” Mickey asks Ian, staring out at the road as he’s driving now. “Him getting into a fight?” Ian asks “I know it will, you said yourself he’s got your genes” 

“No” Mickey says “him gettin picked on because of us” Ian softens at that, but nods, telling his husband honestly “yeah I think it’ll happen to both of them at some point” Mickey frowns “I never thought about that before” he admits “guess I was so focused on gettin fucked with for being gay that I never thought about anybody fuckin with my kids for it” 

“Kids are always gonna be mean, Mick” Ian tells him “If it wasn’t for this it’d be something else. We’re lucky to be raising two good ones, and they’re tough enough to take it, especially with us there to back them up, you saw what Yev did to that little brat’s face” Mickey smirks “is it bad parenting that I was proud?” 

“Definitely” Ian says with a grin “but I was proud too. It’s good to know he can protect himself” he glances back at Polina as he adds “and I’m not worried about that one at all, did you see the look she was givin Monroe? She can already hold her own” “no shit” Mickey agrees, chuckling “I pray for the first motherfucker who comes at her sideways, they’re gonna lose their nuts before we even get ahold of em, and then they’ll fuckin die” Ian laughs, muttering “damn right”


	12. Too Many Tantrums

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polina’s antics push Mickey to his limit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still intend to post chapters on Sundays (and will be posting the next one this coming Sunday) but I’m also quarantined, have this entire fic pre-written, and am ridiculously bored with nothing else to do so, here we go.

Yevgeny takes his suspension quietly, mostly staying at Mickey’s side as he minds Polina throughout the day, which seems to be a harder task than ever. The ex con isn’t sure if it’s her brother being home when he normally isn’t, or just her deciding to terrorize at full throttle, but for the last few days, she seems to be testing him at every turn even more than she usually does. 

After Ian (and before him when he’s off) The little redhead is usually the first person in the house to wake up, and as soon as she learned to climb out of her crib, they were in for it. Mickey knows that if she isn’t in the bed already, she’ll come barreling in by 6:30 am, screeching for him to get up and feed her, or dance with her, or whatever she demands at that moment. 

On this particular morning however, she sleeps late, and at first, Mickey is pleasantly surprised. He’s able to eat pop tarts with Yev while they watch cartoons, and enjoy his morning coffee in peace, but when 11:30 rolls around and she still hasn’t emerged, he figures he’d better go wake the slumbering beast before she misses her chance to nap and possesses the right to reek havoc. 

“Alright sleepin beauty” he says, entering the room and crossing to the crib where she’s still passed out “time to get up” Mickey lifts her gently, still sleeping, and she whimpers and thrashes into consciousness, swinging her arms and legs violently against his hold as he sits her up against his chest. “Woah hey hey crazy! it’s me! ” Mickey tells her, turning her face to look at him “it’s just Papa, squirt, who else would it be?” 

This both comforts and irritates the little girl, and she slams her forehead against his in response, breathing her morning breath into his face and whining. Mickey squint an eye and grunts in pain before he kisses her nose and chuckles softly “I know parrot, I like to sleep in too, but if you don’t get up now you’re gonna be a hot mess later, let’s get changed and have some breakfast huh?” 

“NO!” The two year old screams, throwing herself down on the rug the minute he sets her on her feet. Polina buries her face in her arms and continues incoherently whining and squirming, starting the day off fresh with a fit, and making her father sigh. Mickey shakes his head at the dramatics, moving to get her some new clothes and a clean diaper and wipes before he kneels beside her again. “C’mon Polly pocket” he coaxes gently, rubbing her back “you don’t wanna go potty like a big girl?” 

“NEVER!” Polina shrieks, and Mickey rolls his eyes at the use of her new favorite word, realizing she isn’t going to cooperate with him today. “Alright well we still gotta change your dipe and get some food in ya” he says as he grabs her by the sides, flipping her from her belly to her back. The little girl lets out a battle cry and begins to kick viciously, forcing him to catch one of her legs in each hand to try and hold them down. 

“Aye! would you stop?!” he cries “I’m not gonna let you sit in piss! C’mere!” but she doesn’t even seem to hear him, using the leverage of his grip to flip herself back over in an attempt to crawl away. Thankfully Mickey is an expert in wrangling her by now, muttering “little punk” as he changes her upside down, pulling off the soiled diaper and sliding the new one underneath her. He pulls her leg aside and wipes her quickly, fastening the straps backwards, all while keeping his firm hold on one of her ankles. 

Polina thrashes until she realizes he’s won this round, flopping down flat to pant in exhaustion. Mickey smirks and pats her on the backside. “You gonna let me put some clothes on you?” He asks and she shakes her head viciously from side to side against the rug, squawking “no clothes! No no no!” 

“fine, stay nakey then” Mickey sighs, picking his battles as he rolls up the dirty diaper and wipes and tosses them at the diaper genie, making the basket and muttering “two points” before turning back to her. Normally he could care less if she runs around in just a diaper, knowing that she loves to streak even more than her brother did this age and do “the nakey dance” as Ian calls it. However, there’s still a chill in the air from the nasty Chicago winter, and it makes him feel the need to warn her “you’re gonna be cold though princess, Papa doesn’t want you to freeze your cute little bird butt off” 

“Mmm!” She whines, sitting up and putting out her arms to him, and he tries not to laugh at her ferocious pout. “Brat” he mutters as he picks her up and kisses her cheek, carrying out into the living room where Yevgeny is waiting. 

The ex con plops her down on the couch beside her brother, asking “what do you want for breakfast kid?” As he goes into the kitchen, rubbing his tired eyes. “Cheewios” she says and Mickey nods, going and getting her a dry bowl of them and a sippy cup of milk. Polina stares him down as he brings her back the breakfast, handing her the cereal bowl and placing the milk on the coffee table in front of them. 

Mickey eyes her, knowing that look, but turns his attention to the TV, hoping in vain that she’ll give him a break and eat her breakfast in peace. Without warning, Polina takes the bowl and flings it with all her might, sending the Cheerios flying everywhere and making Mickey and Yevgeny both dodge the raining cereal. 

“Jesus Christ!” Mickey hollers, turning to his daughter with fire in his eyes. “Why would you do that!?” He asks her, and she grins wickedly and tells him “ass-ident” “it was not!” he insists “I watched you do it!” so she shrugs, trying again with “not hungy” Mickey fumes, taking a deep breath to control his anger as he tells her “if you’re not hungry you tell Papa, Pol. You don’t throw your food up in the air! You’re gonna pick this up right now!” 

“No” She tells him simply “yes!” Mickey says back “right now, or I’m gonna leave it here so daddy can come home and find it, you think he’s gonna like that?” “Don’t care!” She sasses back, crossing her arms like a teenager. “Oh you don’t care?!” he replies sarcastically “You can go on time out while I clean it up then, and I’ll tell daddy about it when he gets home” 

”No!” She whines, getting up to stomp her foot at him. “Oh yeah” he says, getting to his feet as well “you want me to send daddy a picture of what you did? Go to your room right now or I’m gonna put you in there myself” “Mmnnnn!” She whines, sticking her tongue out at him obnoxiously and balling her tiny hands into angry little fists. 

“I’m gonna count” Mickey warns “1...” and Polina scowls at him, knowing that he’s got the upper hand and infuriated by it. “NO LIKE YOU!” She screams, running from the room, and Mickey sighs, shaking his head and muttering to himself “yeah well you’re no walk in the park either” as he kneels to start scooping up Cheerios off the ground. 

Yev gets down beside him and begins to help, melting Mickey’s heart. ”thanks kid” he says, pulling him against his side in a hug. “She’s more scared of daddy than you” Yev teases, and Mickey chuckles in spite of himself, ruffling his sons hair as he says “I’m more scared of daddy too, that’s why I use em as a threat, he can kick all our butts”

The next few hours pass without major incident. As promised, Mickey goes to get Polly when he’s done cleaning up the mess, giving her a stern talking to and bringing her back to the living room in a better mood, or so he thinks. She plays nicely with him for a while, and transitions easily into playing by herself when he gets up and goes to make them lunch. 

As he’s putting peanut butter on Yev’s sandwich, a sharp noise echos through the living room. The dark haired man raises his head to see his daughter standing over his son, who is hunched over the book he’s reading, trying his best to ignore her. “Did she just hit you!?” Mickey asks, and the little boy mutters “yeah” unfazed beyond annoyance. 

Mickey on the other hand is furious, and stalks across into the living room, kneeling beside the two year old. “Hey!” He tells her sternly “Keep your hands off your brother! What is going on with you today little girl!? How many times do I gotta tell you? We don’t hit!” 

Polina laughs in his face and hits Yev harder, making him hiss “ow” and rub the back of his head. Mickey grabs her hand, turning her to look at him “Polina Marie Milkovich you better stop that right now!” He barks “I’m not playin!” “YOU STOP!” she screams, raising her other hand to hit him instead. 

Mickey’s eyebrows touch his hairline “you hit me and I’m gonna hit you back” he warns her, and the child glares right at him. “Don’t you do it! Don’t you -” he’s cut off as she strikes him as hard as she can between the eyes. Mickey swats her back on the diaper, the loud thwack of his flat hand on the thick material having more of an impact than anything else as it makes them both jump in surprise. The two stare at each other for a split second as Yev looks between them like a front row spectator. 

Polina’s eyes grow wide at the audacity before she bursts into tears, and Mickey panics, tears forming in his eyes too. He grabs her and squeezes her to his chest, the little girl melting into his embrace and allowing him to hug and kiss her. “My baby” he croons, reaching for Yev to pull against his other side “Im so sorry guys, I love you so much, were alright, everything’s ok” 

“Mean!” Polina whines, and Mickey’s heart breaks, he pulls her back just enough to look into her eyes, brushing her hair back from her sticky face and explaining calmly “No bird, Papa’s not mean, you were being mean to Yevy and me. You don’t like gettin hit do you?” Polina pouts and shakes her head.

“Neither do we” Mickey tells her “so you don’t hit us and we won’t hit you ok?” “Ok” she bawls, snuggling closer into his shoulder as he hugs her tight, kissing the top of her head. “Can you say sorry to Yevy for hitting em?” Mickey asks and she nods, whimpering a pitiful “sowwy” and taking Yev’s hand in her own for a snotty kiss of reconciliation. 

Mickey smiles softly, murmuring “that’s my tough girl” as tucks her into his neck and kisses her temple. “Let’s have some lunch n some ice cream huh?” He says, rising with the toddler cradled in his arm and scooping Yev up in the other as he tells them “Papa could use it” 

Ian comes in later to find Mickey in the recliner with Polina asleep in his arms. He’s clutching her tightly, his face stained with tears, and immediately, Ian knows something is wrong. “Hey what happened?” He asks softly, making his way over to the pair of them and kneeling beside the chair. 

“I spanked her” Mickey chokes out, eyes welling up again “I’ve never done that before” Ian melts, “Aw baby, we’ve been through this remember? It’s ok, sometimes it’s the right thing” “I know” Mickey sniffs, stroking his daughter’s hair as he looks down lovingly into her sleeping face “I just” he pauses, choking up as he says “I don’t want her to look at me different” 

Ian’s heart breaks, overcome with emotion himself as he cups his face. “Mickey, honey look at me” and the Milkovich man looks up, listening quietly as Ian goes on “Nothing is gonna change, especially not because of one little smack that probably didn’t even hurt” 

“hurt me more” Mickey mutters “broke my fuckin heart” and Ian smiles softly “This is your child, Mikhailo, our child, but she’s yours in a special way, because you asked for her, you’ve given up everything for her, you’ve changed who you are to raise her, and she loves you, babe. She loves you so much, maybe even the most” 

Mickey shakes his head, and Ian fixes him with a look. “when she gets hurt what’s the first word out of her mouth?” “papa” Mickey admits quietly “what about when she’s scared? Or hungry or tired? She’ll go to both of us, but who does she ask for first, Mick?” “Me” Mickey whispers, and Ian grins, going on. “You’re her comfort, you’re her safe place, she knows that whatever she needs, beyond a shadow of a doubt, youll be right there, because you are, Mickey, you really are. Think about how much less anxiety you’ve had since she’s been born” 

“Don’t got time for it” Mickey mutters, and Ian nods “Exactly, she’s given you purpose. Being at home with her is what you were meant to do, for both of you. She’s as lucky to have you as you are to have her, and I’m the luckiest of all, cause I get you both” Mickey melts, putting out his lips for a kiss, which Ian gives him, resting their foreheads together and giving him several pecks before he pulls back, sitting on the arm of the couch. 

“What happened anyway?” He asks and Mickey rolls his eyes “she wouldn’t stop hitting Yevy, and then she slapped me in the fuckin head” Ian raises his eyebrows “I would’ve done the same damn thing” he tells his husband “she can’t be hittin people, especially not us, and poor bubbas been through enough. He in his room?” Mickey nods “wanted to go have some quiet time” he says “after putting up with her all day I don’t blame him, she’s been a pill from the minute she woke up” 

“I’ll take her on if she tries anything else later” Ian tells him “and I’ll keep her busy when she wakes up, you both deserve a break” “thanks babe” Mickey says, remembering then “oh and she threw her Cheerios all over the fuckin place this mornin, probably gonna be findin em in the couch for weeks, I told her I was gonna tell you” Ian laughs, murmuring “I’ll talk to her” as he leans over to give him another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I don’t personally believe in spanking as a punishment for children, I just feel that it would be realistic in this universe and environment...I respect all parenting styles as long as boundaries are in place.


	13. The First Flu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s all hands on deck when Polina comes down with the flu

The following day, Yev gets to go back to school, leaving Mickey and Polly alone in the house as usual, but she’s still ornery as all get out, proving that her brother being home wasn’t the issue. He puts her down for a nap in the afternoon like he always does, cleaning up the living room before he grabs a basket of clean laundry and heads into the master bedroom. 

Mickey sits down on the bed to fold it, but about halfway through, Polina comes into the room with a sour look on her face. “Hey you” he says as she crosses somberly to his side and rests her head on his leg “you’re supposed to be nappin” The little girl whimpers as he smoothes her hair to one side, stroking his fingers across her cheek and the back of her neck. Worry clouds Mickey’s features as he feels that she’s hotter than usual, even post nap. “You’re warm Parrot” he tells her “you feelin ok?” 

He picks her up and she flops against his chest lifelessly, tucking her fevered face into his neck and coughing violently against it. Mickey hugs her close in concern, hearing the gunk in her lungs and murmuring “cmon squirt, let’s get you some Tylenol” as he gets up and goes out into the kitchen. Mickey gets the little pink bottle down from the cabinet, filling up the syringe and holding it to her lips. 

For once, the pesky two year old doesn’t fight, sucking the liquid down as he pushes the plunger and sets it aside. She swallows and rests her head on her papa’s shoulder, breaking his heart with the lack of feisty spirit she usually has. “My poor baby” Mickey coos, kissing her brow and nuzzling it. Polina sags into the touch, hanging her head and surprising them both as she vomits all down his front. 

“Woah!” The former thug cries in shock, using his free hand to lift the bottom of his shirt and catch the flowing mess before it hits the floor. “You’re ok princess” he soothes as he quickly crosses to the sink, dumping the make shift puke pocket and carefully holding her over the basin as it keeps coming “atta girl, I gotcha, Papa’s gotcha” 

Polina barfs up all of her breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the night before, the Tylenol adding a lovely pink tint to the sea of colors that spew out of her. Mickey rinses off his hand so he can use it to hold her hair back, waiting patiently for her to finish. When there’s nothing left, she spits and coughs, finally beginning to cry as Mickey wets a kitchen towel and wipes her mouth. 

“Yucky” she sobs, going into another coughing fit and her father nods in sympathy, kissing her cheek and pressing his lips against her temple as he croons “I know honey, you’ve never thrown up like that before huh? Guess that’s what I get for callin you squirt, let’s go get cleaned up” He heads for the bathroom then, texting Ian as they go and asking him to pick up Yev on his on way home. 

When Ian arrives at the school to retrieve the little boy, Yevgeny is pleased but confused, running into Ian’s arms as the redhead scoops him up and kisses him hello, murmuring “hey handsome!” “Where’s Papa?” He asks as Ian pats the seat of his pants and puts him down, taking his hand as they head for the parking lot. 

“Sissy’s sick Bub” he explains “Papa couldn’t bring her out so he asked me to come get you. Stay away from her if you can ok? I don’t want you gettin sick too, you’ve missed enough school already” “ok” Yev agrees, opening the back of the truck when they reach it and climbing in for the ride home. 

“Mick?” Ian calls as they enter the house, Yev running off to feed Geico. He goes looking for the two of them, calling until he hears his husband’s voice muffled by the bathroom door, beckoning “in here” Ian pushes it open gently and slips inside to find the room full of steam. Mickey is in the bath with the pale, sickly child half asleep on his chest. Ian melts at the sight, coming to kneel beside the tub. 

“Hey” he says softly, leaning in to kiss his love before he strokes a thumb along his daughter’s cheekbone “how is she?” “Fever broke” Mickey tells him “guess she must’ve kept a little bit of the Tylenol down, but she was still hackin so bad I figured the steam might help clear her poor little lungs up. She got real clingy after pukin so I got in with her and this is where we been since” 

“It probably freaked her out” Ian says “she’s never been sick like this before, it sounds like the flu” and Mickey nods, shifting and muttering “we should probably get the fuck outta here before the fever picks back up again, you wanna help me?” Ian nods, grabbing a towel and scooping the little girl up off his husband. She begins to shiver and whimper as he wraps her up and hugs her close, kissing her cheek repeatedly and nuzzling her above the ear. Ian reaches down with a hand to help Mickey to his feet, handing him another towel which he wraps around himself as he steps out. 

“Are you sicky my little bird?” Ian asks the two year old, and she whines and nods, pressing her face into his warm collar bone as he soothes “let’s get some jammies on huh?” Mickey follows them into the bedroom, slipping into his own comfortable clothes as Ian stands Polina up on the bed. “Yevy can you bring me a diaper?!” He calls out, and the little boy comes running in with one. 

“Thanks bug” he says, and Yev runs back to what he was doing as Ian dresses her in the new diaper and clean pajamas out of the basket that’s still sitting there. Polly groans and leans her forehead against Ian’s, and he rubs them together in sympathy, touching his nose to her own. “What is it baby doll?” He asks her softly “what can daddy do?” 

Polina’s face contorts in a grimace before she sneezes right into his mouth, making him gag at the sensation and then laugh as Mickey snickers along with him. “You’re gonna get it next” he tells the redhead, who sighs and nods. “We’re all gonna get it at some point” he says, neither of them strangers to the way sick children like to spread their germs and infect everyone in close contact with them, the caretakers always coming down with it first. 

“She’s probably been so fuckin bad these past couple days cause she wasn’t feeling good” Mickey tells Ian as he pulls on a sweatshirt and comes over “makes me feel even worse for whoopin ‘er” Ian gives him a look as he picks the toddler up again, telling him firmly “if you don’t stop beatin yourself up about it, I’m gonna whoop you, and I won’t feel bad” 

Mickey smirks at that, placing a peck on his lover’s lips before he takes their daughter from his arms and heads for the living room. Ian follows, swatting him on the behind and laughing as he goes. 

Just as Yevgeny always has, Polina finds herself even more ridiculously spoiled by her dads when she’s sick. She spends the evening wrapped in a blanket cocoon, curled up in Mickey’s lap on the couch while Ian sits beside them, spoon feeding her apple sauce and soup. Both of them keep feeling her face every five minutes to make sure her temperature is under control, crooning to her with pouted lips as they wipe her snotty nose and pat her back through coughing fits. Yevgeny holds Geico in the recliner near by, reaping the benefits of fully controlling the TV, since no one else is paying attention to it. 

In dead of night, Polina begins to squirm, shivering with the chills and breathing raggedly in her sleep. Both Ian and Mickey are roused by it, sitting up on either side of her and exchanging a worried look. “She’s burning up again” Ian says as he places a flat palm against her cheek, smoothing her hair back from her clammy forehead with his other hand. “Let’s wake her up and give her some more Tylenol” Mickey suggests, and he nods, but the little girl beats them to it. 

She flies up suddenly, startling them both as she projectile vomits across the comforter, the mess running down her shirt and into her lap as it keeps coming. Ian cups his hands on instinct, shoving them under the stream of puke as he assures her calmly “there we go Pol, good girl you got it, right in Daddy’s hands sweetheart, you’re doing great” as Mickey picks her up under the armpits

The three of them make a nasty caravan dash for the bathroom, Mickey carrying and Ian catching as Polly continues to barf into his makeshift bucket all the way to the toilet. When they get there, Mickey stands her up in front of the bowl as Ian dumps the content of his hands into it. He quickly goes to rinse them off so they can be of use again, grabbing one of the few abandoned hair ties Svetlana left laying around and coming back over. 

He scoops up her wild ginger hair into a messy bun on the top of her head to keep it out of the way, kneeling on the side opposite of his squatting husband to help him take off her ruined pajamas. The mess has soaked through even her diaper, so Mickey undoes the tabs and pulls it off, finding it completely full of diarrhea.

“Aw, shes got it bad on both ends, poor baby” He tells Ian, grabbing the baby wipes off the back of the toilet and cleaning her up before he rolls up the whole mess and tosses it in the bathroom trash. Polina looks between them with horrified eyes, not understanding whats coming out of her or why it hurts so much. 

She tries several times to swallow it back with no avail, spewing until there’s nothing coming up but stomach acid. “It’s ok babygirl, don’t fight it” Mickey soothes, rubbing her back as she continues to wretch “that’s right princess, let it all come out” Ian adds “we got you, daddy and papa are right here” He gives her his hand to hold and she squeezes it fiercely, hanging on tight until her exhausted little body finally stops convulsing. 

Her fathers embrace her from both sides then, hugging her between them as she coughs and sputters between sobs. “You did so good Pocket” Ian tells her, grabbing another wipe and cleaning her face of vomit, snot, and tears “such a brave girl, don’t worry beautiful, it’s all over now” 

Polina begins to hack horribly in response, choking on the thick mucus blocking her sinuses. Mickey gets some toilet paper and holds it up to her nose, telling her “blow, bird” and pinching it repeatedly as she does so, trying to help her get it out as much as possible. 

“She needs another steam shower” Ian says, disposing of the snot rag and the rest of the wipes before he flushes the toilet and gets up, murmuring “Ill get in with her this time” Mickey nods, getting to his feet and starting the tap for them as Ian scoops the little girl up into his arms and shimmies his boxers down, kicking them off at the ankle. 

“I’ll go clean up the bed” Mickey says, grabbing the dirty clothes and turning to leave. Ian grabs him by the arm, turning him back for a moment longer “lay down in it after huh?” he suggests “Don’t wait up, if you don’t get your rest you’re gonna catch it faster. You’ve been doing this by yourself all day, you deserve a break, tough guy” The dark haired man smiles softly, leaning in to kiss his lover’s lips before he disappears into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him to keep the steam in. 

“Alright parrot” Ian says, stepping into the shower with the child cradled against his chest “let’s get those poor little lungs cleared up hm?” Polly sighs contentedly at the warmth, she snuggles into his neck and closes her eyes, her ragged breaths growing calmer and deeper with each intake of steam. 

“There we go” Ian soothes, kissing the top of her head and letting her hair loose from the bun, smoothing it down with his wet hand. Ian cups some water in his hand and feeds it to her so she can wash the nasty taste from her mouth, rinsing off all the puke and sweat. “Good job, sweet pea” he praises “keep takin those deep breaths, daddy promises it’s gonna help” 

When she’s clean and breathing clearly, Ian gets out and wraps a towel around her, tucking one around his waist. He stands her up on the toilet lid and dries her off, grabbing the baby lotion off the counter pulling out the vix from medicine cabinet. The older redhead rubs the younger one down and coats her chest, telling her softly “this is what I do with Yevy when he’s sicky” chuckling tiredly as he adds “and Papa too” 

He picks her up in his arms again when he’s done, kissing her on the cheek and nuzzling her temple as she rests her head on his shoulder. The pair head for the bedroom then, both exhausted beyond belief. Mickey is snoozing lightly, Yevgeny tucked in beside him, fast asleep with his head resting on his father’s shoulder. For once, Mickey has him on his farther side, in an attempt to keep the little boy away from his sick sister, though her contagion is inevitable. 

There’s a clean diaper and the bottle of Tylenol sitting on Ian’s nightstand, the syringe waiting beside it, and the redhead can’t help but grin tiredly at his husband’s thoughtfulness. He gives Polly a full dose of the medicine, laying her down on the bed and putting the diaper on her before finding some clean boxers for himself. Following Mickey’s train of thought, he doesn’t bother dressing her in another set of pajamas, knowing they’ll probably be ruined again by morning. 

The little girl uses the last of her energy to crawl up next to her Papa and snuggle into his ribs. Mickey brings his arm down around her half consciously and presses his lips to her hairline as Ian climbs in after them and cuddles close on his side. His arm stretches out over Polina as he kisses the back of her clean wet head, hand resting flat on Mickey’s belly as they settle in for the night, none of them planning to move until morning.


	14. Hair and Home Visits

“Polly baby cmon, you gotta let Papa brush your hair” Mickey looks over the back of the couch as he says this, the toddler having jumped down from her spot beside him and run off to hide in the entryway when she saw him pick up the brush. “NO!” She shrieks, and her father sighs. “Please bird?” He begs “The adoption lady is comin today and you can’t be runnin around lookin like Scott fuckin Johnson, I gotta brush it, C’mere” 

After they had all gotten through their cycles of the flu, they had filed the paperwork to start the adoption process, and Mickey had made it his mission to learn to manage his daughter’s hair. He had spent days fighting with hair ties until he learned how to use them, and long nights sitting up watching YouTube videos on how to braid. Ian would just smirk and shake his head, kissing his husband’s cheek and saying “you got this, tough guy” before he went to sleep beside him. 

Mickey thought often of how much his life had changed in the last few years. If Terry could see him now he was fairly sure he would kick him to death, but the ex thug was beyond caring, happy to trade conning for Conair. He had even bought himself a little spray bottle when Debbie had suggested it might help to wet it down, and is getting the hang of the whole thing. His biggest challenge now is getting the feisty little redhead to cooperate. 

“No no no no!” she screams, and Mickey sighs once more, his pride a little wounded as he asks “You always let mama do it, Parrot, why not me huh? What’s Papa doing different?” Polina furrows her brow at the mention of her mother, looking just like Ian as she sticks her chin out in frustration and tells him “Mama mean! I fight! Mama hit! Make my head go ouchie!” 

“She hits you in the head with the brush?!” Mickey asks, horrified, and the little girl nods, breaking his heart with her pouted lip and big green puppy dog eyes. The dark haired man melts, understanding now that she’s putting up a fight not out of stubbornness, but fear, as that’s what Svetlana builds her parenting style around. He gets up and goes over, picking her up and kissing her repeatedly on the top of her head as he coos “Aw Princess, you know papas not gonna do that to ya, I be gentle ok? Promise” 

“Ok” the little girl agrees, still pouting as she lets him carry her back to the couch and sit her down in his lap. “Good girl” Mickey praises, picking up the bottle and spraying her hair before he begins to carefully run the brush through it. He starts at the top, working his way down just like Mandy had showed him. Polly doesn’t fuss this time, turning her attention to the TV and letting him smooth and fold her fiery red locks into a neat little braid on the back of her head. 

By the time Ian brings Yev home from baseball practice, Mickey is a nervous wreck, having set his phone up with music so Polly can dance around on the living room floor as he paces, the two meeting in the middle for the occasional twirl. The taller man is pretty sure he’s never seen the house so clean by anyone’s single hand, especially not the hand of his usually messy husband. “You’re covered in mud!” Mickey tells Yevgeny “go wash up! The bitch from DCFS will be here any minute!” 

“It’s gonna be fine, Mick” Ian tells him, reaching out to hug him close in his arms “we have nothing to worry about” but Mickey remains unconvinced, pouting with his lips pressed against Ian’s shoulder as he complains “Don’t know why we have to have a stupid home visit anyway. V said they never had to do that, it’s not like we don’t already have custody of em. Probably wanna try takin it away cause of my fuckin record” 

“They’re aren’t gonna do that, babe” Ian soothes, stroking a hand down the back of his head “V and Kev didn’t have a real adoption remember? Svetlana scammed them, and it’s not because of your record, or mine” Mickey rolls his eyes “you blew up a stupid van” he grumbles “that’s nothin, according to the state of Illinois, I tried to murder your fuckin cunt of a sister” “half” Ian chuckles, shaking his head as he explains. 

“It’s because of her, not us. Since she signed the papers before she left, she can’t physically vouch for her part in the adoption. They just want to check us out and make sure our story lines up” “well I think it’s dumb” Mickey says decidedly, and Ian pulls him back by the shoulders to look at him “I agree, but you still need to be on your best behavior, Mikhailo, the nicer we are to DCFS, the better report we’ll get” 

“yeah yeah” Mickey mumbles, rolling his eyes heavenward once more “I won’t cuss her out or nothin, just as long as she doesn’t say we’re bad dads” Ian’s heart melts as he leans their foreheads together “she’s not gonna say that honey, she has no reason too. It’s all gonna work out, you’ll see” he kisses Mickey, who kisses him back, the soft moment getting interrupted by the doorbell. 

Ian goes to answer it, introducing himself to the tall blonde woman on the other side and inviting her in as Mickey goes and turns off the music, gathering Polly up in his arms when she whines about it and squeezing her protectively to his chest. “Hello I’m Heidi” the woman introduces herself as she comes into the house, shaking Ian’s hand and reaching out for Mickey’s, who gives it to her wearily, muttering “Hi, Mickey”

“Who’ve we got here?” She asks, turning her attention to the little girl who eyes her suspiciously, looking between her fathers for confirmation on whether or not she should engage. “This is Polina” Ian tells Heidi, encouraging “it’s ok Pollybird, say hi” Mickey tickles her armpit and she giggles and grins, resting her head on his shoulder. The little redhead warms up almost instantly after that, waving enthusiastically as she chirps “hi lady!” 

“Hi Polina” she says with a chuckle “Its nice to meet you, my name is Heidi, how old are you honey?” “TWO!” The child screeches, but it’s a joyful noise as she holds up two proud fingers in the woman’s face, making her laugh. “You’re such a little cutie pie!” She tells Polly, who beams, repeating the phrase when Mickey tells her “say thank you” 

Heidi looks at the clipboard in the crook of her arm then, brow knitting in confusion as she asks “It says here you have two children?” and Mickey explains “yeah our son Yevgeny is seven, he’s in the shower, he just got out of baseball practice” Heidi grins “oh he plays baseball?” She asks and Mickey nods. He looks at Ian then, seeing his chance for a break as he crosses to his husband’s side and hands him their daughter, announcing “I’m gonna bring him some clean clothes” and taking off for the bedroom. 

Ian smirks after him, bouncing the little girl on his hip before he turns back to Heidi. “Can I get you anything?” He asks and the she smiles and shakes her head, telling him “oh no thank you, I’d just like to look around if that’s ok” “go ahead” he tells her warmly “we have nothing to hide” Heidi crosses through the living and dining room area, taking in the small but cozy space as Ian and Polina trail along behind her. 

She notes the play station under the TV and the toddler toys piled up in the corner, clearly recognizing this as a place that children live and play. She goes into the kitchen then, happy to find it clean and fully stocked, no sharp objects sticking out anywhere, and all the outlets covered throughout the place. 

“What do you all do for work?” She asks Ian as they cross back into the dining room, making a note on her clipboard as he tells her “I’m an EMT, Mickey stays home with the kids, and Svetlana is a” he thinks fast “businesswoman, she owns part of a bar a few blocks over with our family friends” “I see” she says “pretty hard for him to get a job with a record like that huh?”

Ian’s lips tighten, but he remains calm and polite as he tells her “oh no, he’s worked since then, he used to be a bouncer for the bar that Lana owns, but when the baby came along he decided to quit and be a stay at home dad. Child care is so expensive these days” “that it is” she agrees as Ian goes on “and we’d rather have our kids with one of us than strangers anyways. Mickey takes it super seriously, he’s changed his whole life for our family, it’s all the matters to him now” 

Heidi softens at this, realizing that she misjudged. She’s about to say something else when the two Milkovich men emerge from the back of the house hand in hand, Yev all clean and dressed in sweats and a long sleeve. “Hi! You must be Yevgeny, I’m Heidi” the woman says, leaning down to shake his hand before she asks “do you want to show me your room?” Yev nods, leading her into the kids bedroom as his dads and sister follow. 

She takes in the bright green walls and decorations with a smile. “Who’s this?” She asks Yev, nodding the lizard cage, and he beams and tells her proudly “That’s my gecko, Geico” Heidi chuckles “good name” she says, noticing then how the space is evenly divided between the two kids. “Both children sleep in here?” She asks, and Mickey nods, tickling Polly under the chin and making her laugh.

“This one doesn’t really stay in her own bed yet” he admits “but yeah it’s both of theirs, our room is out and to your left if you wanna see that too” Heidi nods “I’ll look at everything” she assures them, going back out into the hallway and noticing the closed door on the other side. “Whats in there?” She asks, pointing “Is there a reason Yevgeny doesn’t have a room of his own?” 

“That’s my mamas room” Yev tells her protectively, his eyes going dark “don’t go in there, it’s hers” Mickey hugs the little boy against his side as Ian kneels to his level, setting Polina on her feet and telling him gently “she has to look, buddy, that’s her job, but she won’t move anything ok?” “I promise I won’t” Heidi confirms, and Yev relaxes a bit. 

“Why don’t you take sissy and go play for a little while huh?” Mickey suggests, brushing his messy blonde hair back from his forehead, and Yev nods, taking his sister by the hand leading her into the living room. “He’s very sensitive about his mother” Ian explains, opening the door for Heidi to poke her head inside “we try not to bring her up unless he does. When she left we offered him the room but he felt more comfortable staying with his sister, he wanted to keep everything exactly like she left it, so that’s what we do” 

“That’s very thoughtful of you to respect his wishes” Heidi notes, and Mickey’s brow furrows “well yeah” he says, fighting himself not to get defensive as he tells her “just cause he’s a kid don’t mean he ain’t got feelings, it’s not his fault his moms not here, we’ll do whatever we gotta to help him get through it. It’s no skin off our backs to leave it how it is, not like we’re into interior design or nothin, we ain’t those kinda gays” 

Mickey curses himself internally for the last of his comment, having spoken without thinking about it. He looks at Ian cautiously, silently asking if he’s made a mistake, but Heidi just laughs. “So you two are legally married?” She asks, looking between them, and they both nod.

“yeah we’ve been married for almost three years now” Ian tells her, putting his arm around Mickey, who leans into him for comfort, still hating this whole thing with a passion. “And what about before that?” Heidi wants to know “you said Yevgeny is seven” 

“Yes” Ian confirms “Svetlana is both of the kids mother. He’s biologically Mick’s and Polly is biologically mine. I guess that makes Yev my stepchild, legally, and her his, but we don’t think about it like that because we’ve all been in the picture since the beginning, we’ve been together since we were teenagers, we just weren’t married yet when he was born” he shares a knowing look with Mickey, proud of having slipped past some ugly truth without having to lie. 

“And the mother is clearly still in the picture too” Heidi says, putting the pieces together in her head “so what made you decide to go through with an adoption now?” “It’s for security mostly” Mickey tells her “with Svet being gone for so long we just wanna make sure they’d both get to stay here at home with whoever’s left if anything happened to one of us” 

“And where did she go again?” Heidi asks “what’s the reason for her being gone for so long?” “Russia” Ian says “she went back to Russia to take care of family business, her father is terminally ill” “I see” Heather says “I’m sorry to hear that” “thank you” Mickey says, surprising himself with his own manners as he leads her to check out the rest of the house. 

Heidi inspects the master bedroom and both bathrooms, even asking the kids to show her the backyard. Mickey goes to follow them down the back porch steps but Ian gently stops him and leads him back inside. “She has to talk to them alone, love” he explains, and the Milkovich man scowls, but complies, following Ian back to the couch to wait. 

Out in the back yard, Heidi kneels before Yevgeny, smiling warmly at him. “Can I ask you guys a few questions?” She asks, and he nods, looking at her curiously as he holds Polina’s hand protectively in his own. “Do you like living here with your daddies?” She asks, and Yev nods again “yes my daddies are the best” he informs her and she smiles, prompting “what makes them the best?” 

“Because they always hug and kiss us and say I love you” Yev explains with a shrug, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world “and we always eat food and play and stuff” “what stuff?” Heidi asks and Yev goes on “they play games with us or read us books or watch movies with us, or sometimes we go to the park or my cousins house to play” 

Heidi grins and makes a note, turning to Polly and asking “what about you Polina, what do you like to do with your daddies?”  
“Daddy Papa snuggle” the two year old tells her, squeezing Yev’s arm for emphasis, and the little boys nods in agreement “yeah they always snuggle us, when I miss my mama they always hold me while I cry and let me sleep in their bed whenever I want” 

“Do you miss your mama a lot?” She asks, and Yev nods, his mouth turning down at the corners “but you know she’s coming back right?” Heidi and asks and he nods solemnly “she went to Russia because my grandpa is sick” he tells her, and Heidi makes a note of the fact that all the stories of her whereabouts add up. 

“Is there anything you don’t like about living here?” She asks him, and the little boy thinks hard “I don’t like doing my homework” he says “or eating my vegetables” and the woman laughs. “Ok I’ve got one more question and it’s an important one. Has anyone ever hurt you or Polly, Yevgeny? Was there ever a time where you didn’t feel safe?” 

“Chester at school is mean to me” Yev admits “And one time mamas mean friend gave me a scratch when I tried to give Polly milk, but daddy and papa told me I never have to see her ever again, and they told chesters daddy they will beat him up if he lets his son be mean to me anymore” 

“They protect you huh?” Heidi asks, and Yev nods “Yes, they always tell me they didn’t have nice daddies to protect them like we do, so they will always be nice to us, and never let anything bad happen to us no matter what” Heidi melts at this, her visit completed, and mind made up about the Milkovich family. “Why don’t we go tell them what good daddies they are?” She suggests And Yev grins, leading them back up into the house. 

At the sound of the back door opening, the anxious couple rise, intercepting their children who come running to them. The little boy attaches himself to Mickey’s leg, his dad leaning down to place a kiss on the top of his head as Ian scoops Polina up and hugs her close against his side, kissing her cheek. “Well I’ve seen everything I need to see” Heidi announces, nodding to Yev and Polly as she says “these two are clearly extremely loved and well cared for, you’ve got a beautiful family” 

“Thank you” Ian says, squeezing Yev’s shoulder before putting his free arm around Mickey. The ex con puts his hand on Yev’s other shoulder and his lips out for a kiss from Polly, who giggles and leans over to give it to him. “I’ll give you a great report” Heidi says “all that’s left to do after that is the paternity test and it should be smooth sailing from there” 

“Paternity test?!” Mickey asks, looking at Ian, as neither of them were expecting that. “Is that a problem?” Heidi asks, and Ian shakes his head quickly “no, no problem” he assures her, putting Polly down and squeezing Mickey close. The woman smiles again “you can go down to the hospital and get them done, submit them anytime before you get your court date and you should be good to go. I see no reason why this adoption shouldn’t go through perfectly” 

“Thanks” Mickey says, showing her to the door as she nods, calling it’s nice to meet you all!” and waving over her shoulder as she goes. The Milkovich man waves politely until she’s out the gate, slamming the door then and stalking back to Ian to holler “a fucking paternity test?! What the fuck do we need that shit for?!” 

“Hey” Ian says, coming over and gripping him by the shoulders “Its gonna be fine. Let’s talk about it later huh? When theres no one else listening?” Mickey glances at Yev, who is playing with Polly in front of the TV. 

He nods, exhaling deeply and sagging into Ian who kisses his forehead and takes him close in his arms, rubbing a hand down his back as he presses his lips to his sideburn. “I need a cigarette” Mickey says, and Ian tells him “go have one tough guy, we’ll be right here when you get back ” Mickey nods, rubbing a hand down his face and heading out onto the porch.


	15. Just The Four Of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Milkovich family reaches some milestones and reflects on how lucky they are to have each other

When Ian comes into their room from reading to Yev that night, Mickey is sitting up in bed, staring down at Polina, who is asleep on his chest “you want me to lay her down?” Ian asks putting out his arms, and Mickey shakes his head.

“No I want her” he mutters, and Ian nods, knowing that the child is as much a comfort to Mickey as he is to her. Ian comes around to his side and gets in bed next to them, leaning over and kissing Mickey as the Milkovich man leans into his touch, pressing their foreheads together. 

“Talk to me” the redhead whispers, kissing his brow as he asks “what’s goin on up here huh?” Mickey sighs, resting his head on Ian’s shoulder as he quietly admits “I don’t get why we have to do the stupid test. Is the red hair not fuckin obvious enough? they’re ours, that should be the end of it”

“it’s just a formality, sweetie” Ian says, putting his arm around him “all of this is, you said yourself it’s for security, it doesn’t mean anything” he pauses, looking at the dark haired man intently as he asks “are you worried he’s not yours? Cause I’m not, not even a little bit” 

“No!” Mickey says defensively, softening as he explains “I mean he looks like me and acts like me, got my damn attitude for sure” Ian chuckles as husband goes on “I know he’s mine, its just” he pauses, looking up at Ian with the same big blue eyes that belong to the little boy in question as he asks “if he wasn’t, would you still, yknow?” 

“Adopt him!?” Ian gasps, horrified as he cries “of course! Why would you even ask me that?!” “Just makin sure” Mickey murmurs as Ian goes on “I’m pretty sure you would have to adopt him too at that point” “I would” the ex thug says with conviction, and Ian melts “I know you would Mick, none of that shit matters now, but you won’t have to” 

He smiles down at Polly, stroking her hair back as he says “he’s my son just as much as she’s your daughter, they’re both our babies forever, no matter what” Mickey relaxes then a little then, hugging the little girl close as Ian tightens his arms around both of them and kisses Mickey’s hairline. 

The ex con looks into the sleeping child’s face, brushing her cheek with his thumb as he says “you know DCFS never came here for us? not even once, nobody gave a shit enough to call em. By the time Mandy and me came along I’m pretty sure they knew better anyway. Only time we went to foster care is when Terry gave us up for a year so he could run drugs for the sinaloa cartel, fuckin bastard. They just handed us back to em like it was nothin” 

Ian’s heart breaks as he holds his love tighter, nuzzling his temple. “I’m sorry baby” he whispers “that’s why you’re so freaked out by all this home visit stuff huh? You’ve never been through it before” Mickey nods, and Ian smiles softly, giving him a kiss on the lips before he pulls back and says “well it’s all done now, and we did great, one more stupid test and we’re gonna be able to finish this adoption shit and move on with our lives” 

“Can’t fuckin wait” Mickey says, shifting down to lay flat on his back with Polly resting along the length of him as his husband does the same on his side, keeping his arms around them both. “Think we should invite everyone to the courthouse?” the former con asks “throw a party after or some shit?”

Ian thinks about this for a moment, then shakes his head “nah” he says decidedly “let’s take the kids out to dinner afterwards, and maybe ice cream too, just the four of us, that’s what’s it’s about anyways right?” Mickey smiles, leaning in to kiss Ian again and whispering when they pull back “yeah, I like that” 

The paternity test turns out to be a fiasco, but not at all for the reasons they expected. It’s Polina Marie who decides to cause a ruckus in the exam room, fighting so viciously against having her cheek swabbed that it takes both of her dads and two nurses to hold her down. By the time the day is over, she and Mickey are both thoroughly traumatized, the two of them spending the evening curled up in Ian’s lap for comfort. When the results finally show up in the mail, Mickey’s hands shake so much that Ian has to take it away and open it for him. 

“What is it?!” He demands as soon as Ian’s eyes have trailed steadily across the paper, snatching it back from him in anticipation, his own eyes rapid firing for the short answer. The ex con bows his head with relief when he finds it, tears prickling his eyes as he drops the paper and sags into Ian’s arms. His love pulls him close and kisses his temple as he whispers “I knew it, told ya so” “I believed you” Mickey tells him “I’m just glad it’s fuckin over” 

“What’s wrong?” Yevgeny asks, coming out of the bedroom then and witnessing his fathers’ dramatic embrace. Mickey raises his head and rubs his eyes, turning to beam at the child who will never be questioned as his flesh and blood again, by anyone if Mickey has any say in it. “Nothing Bubba” he assures his son, coming over and scooping him up into his arms, he squeezes Yev tightly to his chest, kissing his ear and turning back to smile at Ian as he says “we’re fine, don’t worry, everything’s perfect” 

By the time their court date arrives, the anxiety surrounding the adoption has passed, and there’s nothing to do but celebrate. 

“Let’s go! We’re gonna be late!” Mickey hollers, coming into the living room where Ian has just finished changing Polina and is lifting her onto his hip, patting her clean diaper. Mickey’s done her hair up in little pigtails for the special day and put her in a purple dress with sunflowers on it that used to belong to Franny. “Aye there’s my pretty girl!” The ex thug says, taking her from Ian’s arms and kissing her as he asks “you ready huh carrot top?” The child nods, giggling as he tosses her up in the air and catches her

“Yevy!” Ian calls “let’s go bud!” And the little boys comes out of his room, having dressed himself in a button down and jeans and allowed his dads to gel his hair back for him. “Almost little man” Ian says with a smirk, coming over to adjust his buttons, as he’s missed a few and made them all go wonky. “Where do you think we should go to eat after?” He asks and Yev immediate crows “Sizzler!” 

“We can’t go back to Sizzler, kiddo, remember last time?” Mickey asks, and Yev laughs and nods, having forgotten all about their Sizzler fiasco when Polina was a little baby. “How about Golden Corral?” He asks and Mickey smirks “you get all your choices from the TV dontcha bub?” He turns to Ian, both of them laughing as he says “we gotta get this kid out more” 

By some miracle, they make it to the courthouse with time to spare, and are asked to sit outside on the benches for a few minutes before they get called before the judge. “You ready?” Ian asks Mickey, who nods “not used to goin in without handcuffs” he snarks, and Ian chuckles, taking his tattooed hand and kissing it. He keeps it in his own as the doors open and they are invited inside. 

Judge Albertson is an old African American man with thin glasses and a kind smile, which he uses to welcome them in. The little family settles into the first row of the gallery, Ian holding Yev on his lap and Mickey holding Polly on his. “Good afternoon all” the judge says, smiling at the children first as he asks “do you two understand what’s going to happen today?” 

“Yes sir” Yevgeny says, making his dads proud with his manners as he takes Polina’s hand and tells him “we’re getting adopted” the judge smiles “very good son!” He praises, motioning for the clerk to bring the Bible forward. Mickey and Ian each place their hands on it, Yevgeny and Polina copying them out of curiosity as the old man explains

“When you’re in court, you have to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, do you think you can do that for me now?” Yevgeny nods seriously, repeating his dads as they’re sworn in, and waiting quietly with them as Judge Albertson looking over their paperwork when the clerk brings it to him. 

“Everything is in order here, gentlemen” he tells the pair of fathers “You’ve competed all your paperwork and proved through paternity and documentation that these children are biologically each of yours, and are already in your joint custody within the home. I will grant this adoption without further question, but first I’d like to read a quote from your DCFS file if you don’t mind” 

Mickey glances at Ian nervously, who squeezes his husband’s hand and nods for the judge to proceed. The old man clears his throat and adjusts his glasses, reading from the paper in his hands. 

“It is my over all observation as an agent of the department of child and family services, that these children, Yevgeny and Polina Milkovich, are being raised in a fully functioning loving and stable environment. They are not only physically and financially cared for, but emotionally supported as well by their devoted parents, who are competent enough to understand the difference between these needs and see each of them individually met as they arise. There is no question in my professional opinion that this adoption should proceed without hesitation, and that this family will thrive together in the years to come” 

The judge looks up at them over his glasses “this is one of the best reports I’ve seen in my 25 years serving this court” he admits, and Mickey almost chokes up as Ian says “thank you your honor” and leans into his family, kissing both children on the head. “Shall we get on with it then?” The judge asks, and both men nod eagerly as he says “approach the bench” 

Mickey sets Polina on his hip and Ian does the same with Yevgeny, keeping their free hands clutched together as they move up to the judge’s raised podium. “Do you each swear to care for and protect these children with your life and livelihood by whatever means necessary from this day forward until they are at least 18 years of age?” 

“Yes your honor” they both say, “and long after that too” Mickey assures him, smiling softly at Polina as Ian beams at Yevgeny and adds “forever” making judge Albertson grin and declare. 

“Then by the power invested in me by the state of Illinois, I grant joint legal guardianship of Yevgeny Aleksandr Milkovich to his legal stepfather, Ian Gallagher Milkovich. I also grant joint legal guardianship of Polina Marie Milkovich to her legal stepfather, Mikhailo Aleksandr Milkovich. Both parents, along with the children’s birth mother, Svetlana Yevgenivna Milkovich, will all have full legal right to represent these children going forward, that includes medically, and in the court of law, is that clear?” 

“Yes your honor” Ian and Mickey say again, both emotional in spite of themselves as the old man bangs his gavel and says “court adjourned, congratulations to the four of you” 

After the adoption certificate is signed, the family gets their picture taken, and hurries out of the courtroom as fast as Mickey can usher them. The ex con hates the place for all the memories it brings up, both of his own criminal history, and being present for his family member’s various hearings throughout the years. Though he’s secretly happy to have such a joyful courtroom memory to look back on now. 

Per Yev’s request, they head to Golden Corral, thrilled to find that the Buffett has a dessert bar that includes soft serve ice cream, and a chocolate fountain. “THIS IS BETTER THAN SIZZLER!” Yevgeny cries, running to grab himself a plate and begin piling it with everything in sight. His dads just laugh and shake their heads, following to make their own plates and Polly’s. 

When they’re all loaded up with dinner and dessert (both children having inherited Mickey’s love for sweets) the family of four settles into a booth. Ian places Polina on the bench with Yevgeny, her plate full of easy to grab finger food, across from Mickey and himself. He makes sure she’s on the inside so she can’t get down and scamper off, putting his husband on the inside too after his shenanigans at Sizzler. 

Yev dives right into his plate, but the little girl is too excited. She jumps up and down on the cushion seat, leaning over to lick the window and a dragging a nice big slobber mark across it with her open mouth. “Aye! Crazy!” Mickey barks, snapping his fingers at her “would you sit down and eat your food please?!” He can’t help but chuckle at the exasperated look she gives him, her eyebrows touching her hairline just like his own do. Ian laughs too as he tells her “the window is yucky baby, you wanna lick something, lick your dinner” 

Polly smirks at them as she politely sits down beside her brother, picking up a mini muffin and beginning to lick at it obnoxiously with her little pink tongue. Ian sighs and shakes his head, biting a smile as Mickey laughs and says “you told her to!” muttering “little weirdo” under his breath. “I know” Ian says, giggling in spite of himself “I know, we’ll work on table manners later” 

The meal goes on peacefully after that, everyone enjoying their food and each other’s company. When he’s done eating, Mickey sits back to gaze lovingly at each member of his tribe. Ian, making goofy faces at the kids, looking like the most adorable idiot he’s ever seen. Yevgeny, belly laughing with his mouth full of mashed potatoes, toothy grin wide and care free. And Polina, beaming and clapping with chocolate smeared all over her face and hands. 

He realizes in this moment that they’re going to make it just fine on their own. When Svetlana comes back, it’ll only be more love added to the mix again. His family is everything to him, and that’s all that could ever matter. With these three by his side, Mickey’s pretty sure he could make it through just about anything.


End file.
